git ignore local changes

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Ben Marshall
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You may not want to always commit local files and directories to your git repo and adding them to the .gitignore isn't the solution if you don't want those ignored files to be shared. Learn how to git ignore local changes.

How to Git Ignore Local Changes

If you don’t want to create a .gitignore file to share with others, you can create rules that are not committed with the repository to git ignore local changes. You can use this technique for locally-generated files that you don’t expect other users to generate, such as files created by your editor.

Use your favorite text editor to open the file called .git/info/exclude within the root of your Git repository. Any rule you add here will not be checked in, and will only ignore files for your local repository.

Git ignore Local Changes, Files, and Directories

  1. Open Terminal.

  2. Navigate to the location of your Git repository.

  3. Using your favorite text editor, open the file .git/info/exclude.

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