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How do I generate a .gitignore file online?

Select from 50+ templates for Node.js, Python, Java, Go, Rust, and more, then generate a comprehensive .gitignore file. Combine multiple templates for monorepos. Download or copy the result with one click. Everything runs in your browser — no signup required.

Generate for Node.js project
Input
Framework: Node.js
Extras: macOS, VS Code
Output
# Dependencies
node_modules/

# Build
dist/
build/

# Environment
.env
.env.local

# macOS
.DS_Store

# VS Code
.vscode/settings.json
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.gitignore Generator

Select templates for your project stack to generate a comprehensive .gitignore file. Combine multiple templates and add custom rules.

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About .gitignore

  • .gitignore tells Git which files and directories to skip when tracking changes in your repository.
  • Place the file at the root of your repository. Patterns apply recursively to all subdirectories.
  • Lines starting with # are comments. Use ! to negate a pattern and re-include a file.
  • Trailing / matches only directories.* matches anything except /,** matches everything including nested paths.
  • Everything runs in your browser — no data is sent over the network.

Tips & Best Practices

Pro Tip

Commit .gitignore before your first code commit

Once a file is tracked by git, adding it to .gitignore won't untrack it. You must git rm --cached filename first. Start every project with a proper .gitignore to avoid accidentally committing node_modules, .env, build artifacts, or IDE config. GitHub's template collection (github/gitignore) covers most languages and frameworks.

Common Pitfall

Negation patterns (!file) don't re-include files in ignored directories

If you ignore dist/ and then try to include dist/important.js with !dist/important.js, it won't work. Git doesn't look inside ignored directories at all. You'd need to ignore dist/* (contents only, not the directory itself) and then negate. This subtle distinction causes many .gitignore bugs.

Security Note

Always ignore .env and credential files

The #1 cause of leaked secrets on GitHub is missing .gitignore entries for .env, .env.local, credentials.json, *.pem, and *.key files. Add these entries to your global .gitignore (~/.gitignore_global) so they're ignored across all projects. Use git-secrets or trufflehog as pre-commit hooks for additional safety.

Real-World Example

Use global .gitignore for IDE and OS files

Files like .DS_Store (macOS), Thumbs.db (Windows), .idea/ (JetBrains), .vscode/ (VS Code) are user-specific, not project-specific. Configure a global gitignore: git config --global core.excludesfile ~/.gitignore_global. This keeps project .gitignore clean and focused on language/framework patterns.

Frequently Asked Questions

What files should a .gitignore include for a Node.js project?
A Node.js .gitignore should exclude node_modules/ (dependencies), dist/ or build/ (compiled output), .env and .env.local (secrets), coverage/ (test reports), *.log files, .DS_Store and Thumbs.db (OS files), and .cache/ directories. Keep package-lock.json committed for reproducible installs. For TypeScript, also exclude *.tsbuildinfo. DevBolt's .gitignore Generator provides curated templates for Node.js, TypeScript, React, Next.js, and other frameworks with a single click.
How does .gitignore pattern matching work?
Gitignore uses glob-style patterns. A bare pattern like *.log matches files anywhere in the repo. A leading slash /build/ anchors to the root. A trailing slash logs/ matches only directories. The wildcard * matches anything except path separators, while ** matches across directories. Negation with ! re-includes a previously excluded pattern. Patterns are evaluated top to bottom with later rules overriding earlier ones. Understanding these rules prevents common mistakes like ignoring files you intended to keep.
Why does .gitignore not work for already-committed files?
Gitignore only affects untracked files — it has no effect on files already tracked by Git. If you committed a file before adding it to .gitignore, Git continues tracking it. To fix this, remove the file from tracking without deleting it from disk using git rm --cached filename. Then commit this removal. The .gitignore rule will now prevent re-adding. DevBolt generates .gitignore files upfront so you can add rules before your first commit.

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