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Select your stacks
Pick languages, frameworks and tools on the left, then click Generate// generate .gitignore for any stack in one click
Generate a clean .gitignore file for any project stack. Pick languages, frameworks and tools — download or copy your .gitignore in seconds.
Select your stacks
Pick languages, frameworks and tools on the left, then click GenerateClick languages, frameworks, editors and tools that match your project. Use the search box to filter quickly.
Click "Generate .gitignore" to combine all selected templates into one clean file.
Copy the output to clipboard or download as .gitignore and place it at your repo root.
A .gitignore file tells Git which files and folders to exclude from version control. This tool generates a ready-to-use .gitignore by combining community-standard templates for your exact technology stack — no manual research needed.
A .gitignore file specifies intentionally untracked files that Git should ignore. Files already tracked by Git are not affected. It lives at the root of your repository and applies to the entire project.
Yes — that's one of the key features. Click as many stacks as your project uses (e.g. Node.js + React + VS Code + macOS) and they'll all be merged into a single .gitignore with clear section comments.
Place it in the root directory of your Git repository. You can also create .gitignore files in subdirectories to apply rules only to that folder and its children.
No. Everything is processed entirely in your browser. No data is sent to any server. Your template selection and generated output never leave your machine.
node_modules/ can contain tens of thousands of files and is always reproducible via npm install. Committing it bloats your repo, slows clones, and creates unnecessary merge conflicts.
Absolutely. Copy or download the generated file, then open it in any text editor and add your own patterns. The generated output is a plain text file with no lock-in.
Adding it to .gitignore after the fact won't help immediately — you need to untrack it first with git rm --cached <file>, then commit. The .gitignore will prevent it from being re-added.
Our templates are based on the community-maintained github/gitignore repository, which is the de facto standard for .gitignore templates used by millions of developers.
A gitignore generator is a tool that automatically creates .gitignore files tailored to your specific technology stack. Instead of manually researching which files to exclude for each language, framework, and editor you use, a generator assembles the correct patterns for you in seconds. This free online gitignore generator supports 30+ popular stacks including Node.js, Python, PHP, React, Laravel, Django, and many more.
Without a proper .gitignore file, your Git repository can quickly fill up with files that should never be under version control. Build artifacts, compiled binaries, dependency folders like node_modules/, IDE configuration files, operating system metadata, and most critically — secret files containing API keys, passwords, and environment variables — can all accidentally end up committed to your repository.
The consequences of missing a .gitignore range from minor annoyances (a bloated repo that takes forever to clone) to serious security incidents (credentials exposed in a public GitHub repository). A well-crafted .gitignore is one of the first things every developer should add to a new project, ideally before the first commit.
Using this tool is straightforward:
.gitignore file in your repository root, or paste the copied content into an existing file..gitignore as one of your first commits so ignored files are excluded from the very beginning.Understanding the patterns in your .gitignore helps you maintain and extend it confidently:
node_modules/ — The trailing slash means this only matches directories. This ignores the entire Node.js dependency folder.*.log — The asterisk is a wildcard. This ignores any file ending in .log, regardless of name..env — Ignores the exact file named .env. This is critical for keeping API keys and secrets out of version control.!.env.example — The exclamation mark negates a rule. This ensures .env.example (a template with no real values) IS committed, even though .env files are ignored.dist/ — Ignores build output directories. These should always be reproducible from source, never committed..DS_Store — macOS metadata files created by Finder. These are specific to your machine and meaningless to teammates.Modern projects often combine multiple technologies. A Next.js application might use TypeScript on the frontend, have a Python data processing service, be deployed with Docker, and be developed with VS Code on macOS. Each of these stacks generates its own set of files that should be ignored. This tool's multi-select capability lets you combine all relevant templates in a single click, producing a comprehensive .gitignore without duplication.
For monorepos — single repositories containing multiple services or packages — you can place a root .gitignore that covers all stacks, or place separate .gitignore files in each subdirectory for more granular control.
One of the most important functions of a .gitignore file is preventing secrets from entering version control. Our template includes patterns for common secret files: .env, *.pem, *.key, credentials.json, and service-account.json. If you're using any cloud provider, database, or third-party API, make sure to select the "Secrets & Environment" option when generating your file.
Remember: once a secret is committed to a public repository, it should be considered compromised — even if you delete it in a subsequent commit. Git history preserves all previous versions. Always generate your .gitignore and verify it's protecting your secret files before your first commit.
.gitignore tells Git what to ignore. A .gitkeep is an unofficial convention (an empty file) used to force Git to track an otherwise empty directory — since Git doesn't track empty directories by default. They serve opposite purposes: one hides files, the other ensures a folder is preserved in the repository.
You can configure a global .gitignore that applies to all your repositories on your machine. This is ideal for editor-specific and OS-specific patterns like .DS_Store or .vscode/, which are personal preferences rather than project-wide rules. Run git config --global core.excludesfile ~/.gitignore_global to set up a global file. This keeps your project-level .gitignore focused purely on project-relevant ignores.