.gitignore Generator
Select from 40+ templates for languages, frameworks, editors, and OS — combine them into a ready-to-use .gitignore. 100% client-side.
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🔒 100% private: All generation happens in your browser. Templates are stored locally. Nothing is uploaded.
About .gitignore Generator
A .gitignore file tells Git which files and folders to ignore when committing — build outputs (node_modules, dist, target), IDE configs (.vscode, .idea), OS files (.DS_Store, Thumbs.db), secrets (.env), and language-specific artifacts (__pycache__, *.pyc, .class). Every project needs one, but every project's needs are different: a Rust CLI project needs Cargo artifacts; a Next.js app needs .next/ and .vercel; a Python data-science project needs .ipynb_checkpoints and .venv. This tool provides 60+ curated templates (from the well-known gitignore.io/Toptal set) that you can combine. Pick your languages, frameworks, editors, and OS, then download a ready-to-use .gitignore.
How It Works
- Search or browse the template library.
- Click templates to add them to your selection.
- Preview the combined .gitignore in the output panel.
- Optionally add custom patterns in the textarea.
- Download the .gitignore or copy it to clipboard.
✨ Key Features
- ✓60+ curated templates
- ✓Popular languages: Node, Python, Java, Go, Rust, C++, C#, Ruby, PHP, Swift, Kotlin
- ✓Frameworks: Next.js, React, Vue, Angular, Django, Rails, Laravel, Unity, Flutter
- ✓Editors: VS Code, JetBrains, Vim, Sublime Text, Emacs
- ✓OS: macOS, Windows, Linux
- ✓Search and filter templates
- ✓Multi-select and combine
- ✓Custom patterns textarea
- ✓Live preview as you select
- ✓Download as .gitignore
- ✓Copy to clipboard
- ✓100% client-side — no data sent to any server
🎯 Common Use Cases
- →Setting up a new project with proper ignore rules
- →Adding missing patterns to an existing .gitignore
- →Preventing IDE folders from being committed
- →Excluding build artifacts and dependencies
- →Making sure .env and secrets are never committed
- →Preventing OS files (.DS_Store, Thumbs.db) from being tracked
- →Combining patterns for polyglot projects
- →Learning best practices for .gitignore
💡 Advanced Tips & Pro Insights
- ▸Never commit real secrets — always add .env, .env.local, *.pem, *.key, and similar patterns to .gitignore.
- ▸A leading slash (/node_modules) anchors the pattern to the root. Without it (node_modules), the pattern matches anywhere.
- ▸A trailing slash (dist/) matches only directories. Without it (dist), it matches files and directories.
- ▸Use !pattern to un-ignore something previously ignored. Example: *.log then !important.log.
- ▸If a file is already tracked, adding it to .gitignore will not untrack it. Use git rm --cached file to remove it from the index.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this .gitignore generator free?▾
Yes, this .gitignore generator is completely free with no signup, email, or usage limits.
Is my data safe?▾
Yes, 100% safe. All generation happens in your browser. Nothing is uploaded to any server.
What is a .gitignore file?▾
.gitignore is a plain text file that tells Git which files and directories to ignore. Patterns are one per line, supporting wildcards (*), directory markers (/), and negation (!).
Where should .gitignore go?▾
In the root of your repository. You can also have .gitignore files in subdirectories — those patterns apply only to that subdirectory and below.
How do I ignore a file that is already tracked?▾
Adding a pattern to .gitignore does NOT untrack already-tracked files. Run git rm --cached <file> to remove it from the index, then commit. The file remains on disk but is no longer tracked.
What is the difference between /node_modules and node_modules?▾
/node_modules (with leading slash) matches only the node_modules folder at the repository root. node_modules (without slash) matches node_modules folders at any depth.
How do I ignore all files in a directory but keep one?▾
Use a pattern like: build/* and then !build/keep.txt. This ignores everything inside build/ except keep.txt.
Can I have multiple .gitignore files?▾
Yes. .gitignore files can exist at any depth. Deeper .gitignore files override shallower ones. There is also a global .gitignore (git config --global core.excludesfile) and .git/info/exclude for repository-local ignores.