gitignore.md

Gitignore Patterns

Special Characters

1. Comment: #
2. Negation: !
3. Directory Separator: /
4. Wildcard: * (matches all but /)
5. Single Wildcard: ? (matches any single character but /)
6. Double Wildcard: ** (matches multiple layers above or below)

Matching Rules

1. "If there is a separator at the beginning or middle (or both) of the pattern, then the pattern is relative to the directory level of the particular .gitignore file itself. Otherwise the pattern may also match at any level below the .gitignore level."
2. "If there is a separator at the end of the pattern then the pattern will only match directories, otherwise the pattern can match both files and directories."

Examples

1. docs -> matches all files and directories at any level named 'docs'
2. docs/ -> matches all directories at any level named 'docs'
3. docs/file -> matches only files named 'file' in the docs dir at the same level as the .gitignore