Ignore files without editing .gitignore

What if you want to gitignore some files, but you don’t want to add them to .gitignore (for example if they’re only useful to you or on your particular machine for some reason)?

There’s actually a bonus gitignore file in .git/info/exclude (docs).

• It follows the same format as .gitignore
• You don’t need to change any configuration for it to work
• It’s not tracked like the usual .gitignore, so doesn’t appear in the repo
• It’s not synced with remote repos, so will only take effect on your local machine

It’s a bit niche. In general you should probably just add things to the regular .gitignore or share the code with others, there’s usually a pretty minimal cost to adding files to the repo and a small chance it might be useful to someone else at a later point (or you if you ever need a backup). Plus sharing is caring.

The only downside is it’s easy to forget it exists and potentially then wonder why something is being gitignored when you no longer want it to be.

Alternative approach for folders

If you have a whole folder you want to ignore another handy technique is to place a .gitignore file in the folder itself. A star * will then make git ignore the entire contents of that folder, including the .gitignore itself.

# Ignore everything:
*

I think this technique is particularly useful for tools that generate cache folders. Instead of forcing your users to edit their own .gitignore, save them the hassle by automatically adding this to the root of your cache folder.