.gitignore.global

GitHub's global .gitignores catted into a single file for use with git.

Why use a global .gitignore?

When working on projects, we standardise many things -- but not everything.

As a result, we don’t all use the same tools — nor should we.

Diverse setups encourage productivity, creativity and accessibility.

But many tools generate clutter: files that have no place in version control, which end up slowing repos, leaking secrets, or distracting colleagues. Clutter we're responsible for.

This project eases that burden. It combines GitHub’s gitignore templates into a single global file, helping you keep your commits clutter-free.

Usage

One-off curl

To grab the latest .gitignore.global in *sh shells:

curl -fsSL -o ~/.gitignore.global "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/XanderXAJ/.gitignore.global/refs/heads/main/.gitignore.global"

Then configure git to use it:

git config set --global core.excludesFile ~/.gitignore.global

To update .gitignore.global, re-run the above curl command, or add aliases to help you update:

# Shell alias
alias updateGitignoreGlobal='curl -fsSL -o ~/.gitignore.global "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/XanderXAJ/.gitignore.global/refs/heads/main/.gitignore.global"'
# Git alias
git config --global alias.updateGitignoreGlobal '! curl -fsSL -o ~/.gitignore.global "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/XanderXAJ/.gitignore.global/refs/heads/main/.gitignore.global"'

Repo clone

If you prefer to use git, clone the repo via your preferred method (HTTP shown since it doesn't require auth):

git clone https://github.com/XanderXAJ/.gitignore.global.git ~/.gitignore.global

Then configure git to use it:

git config set --global core.excludesFile ~/.gitignore.global/.gitignore.global

To update .gitignore.global, run the following:

git -C ~/.gitignore.global pull

FAQ

How do I commit a file that is being excluded?

Run the following:

git add -f <file>

Some IDE/tool files are still commitable. Why is that?

Some files are intended to be committed despite appearing in an IDE/tool folder.

For example, here's part of the VSCode gitignore:

.vscode/*
!.vscode/settings.json
!.vscode/tasks.json
!.vscode/launch.json
!.vscode/extensions.json

You can see some specific exclusions (lines beginning !) to the ignore rules.

These exclusions are intended by the tool in question to be committed, for example to allow for customisations or recommendations on a per-repo or per-project basis. To understand more about them, look up the tool's documentation.