What is a .gitignore file?

A .gitignore file tells Git which files and folders to ignore — to never track or commit to the repository. Common examples include node_modules/, __pycache__/, .env files, build output directories, and IDE-specific files. Without a .gitignore, you risk accidentally committing large binaries, secrets, or generated files.

Should I commit my .gitignore file?

Yes. The .gitignore file should always be committed to your repository. This ensures every developer who clones the repo gets the same ignore rules, preventing accidental commits of build artifacts, secrets, or IDE configuration files.

Can I combine multiple project types?

Yes — this is one of the most useful features. For example, a Django project on a Mac using VS Code should combine 'Python', 'Django', 'macOS', 'VS Code', and '.env files'. Each section is clearly labeled in the generated output so you can see exactly what each part ignores.

What does the 'macOS' template ignore?

The macOS template ignores system files created by macOS that have no purpose in a repository: .DS_Store (Finder metadata), .AppleDouble, .LSOverride, Icon files, and various Spotlight/Time Machine metadata files. These should be ignored on every project regardless of language.

Why should I ignore .env files?

The .env file typically contains API keys, database passwords, secret tokens, and other sensitive configuration. Committing .env to a repository — especially a public one — exposes your secrets to the entire internet. The '.env files' template ignores .env, .env.local, .env.production and similar files while allowing .env.example to be committed as a template.

How do I apply a .gitignore to files already tracked by Git?

If files are already tracked by Git, adding them to .gitignore won't untrack them automatically. You need to run: git rm --cached (or git rm -r --cached . to untrack everything), then commit the result. After that, Git will respect the .gitignore rules for those files.