.gitignore

Purpose: A .gitignore file tells Git which files or folders to ignore and not track. It keeps your repository clean and safe.

Why Use It?

• Avoid tracking unnecessary files (logs, build folders, OS files)
• Prevent accidentally committing secrets (API keys, passwords)
• Reduce repository size and clutter

How It Works:

1. Create a file named .gitignore in your project's root directory.
2. Add patterns for files/directories to ignore.
3. Git automatically excludes them from tracking.

Common Patterns:

• *.log - Ignore all files with .log extension
• node_modules/ - Ignore entire directory
• .env - Ignore environment files (often contain secrets)
• !important.log - Exception: do NOT ignore this file

Key Rule: If a file is already tracked by Git, adding it to .gitignore won't stop tracking. Use git rm --cached <file> to remove it first.

Pro Tip: Use templates from gitignore.io for your programming language or IDE.