`Creating a new repository` doesn't mention gitignore templates

[jsoref]

Code of Conduct

• I have read and agree to the GitHub Docs project's Code of Conduct

What article on docs.github.com is affected?

https://docs.github.com/en/repositories/creating-and-managing-repositories/creating-a-new-repository#creating-a-new-repository-from-the-web-ui

What part(s) of the article would you like to see updated?

Some reference explaining how/what the gitignore template thing works

Additional information

https://github.com/new

• https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/168451

[Blend1221]

#39758

[por1981]

https://github.com/github/docs/issues/new/choose

[Sharra-writes]

@jsoref Are you proposing adding another line to the list in that section, maybe with a link to REST API endpoints for gitignore? I don't know how useful that link is because I don't actually understand most of it, but I notice the link to Ignoring files is in there, at least.

[jsoref]

I didn't know about that, so I wasn't proposing it, but, yes, that seems like the perfect think to reference.

[benaz14]

Haha Op di 12 aug 2025 om 02:04 schreef Josh Soref ***@***.***>

…

*jsoref* left a comment (github/docs#39758) <#39758 (comment)> I didn't know about that, so I wasn't proposing it, but, yes, that seems like the perfect think to reference. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#39758 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/A3AP7KCJ2OC6S3KBV76HTIT3NEVQNAVCNFSM6AAAAACDQVS72KVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZTCNZXGI2DKMZXHA> . You are receiving this because you are subscribed to this thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[Sharra-writes]

I'm so scatterbrained, I forgot to update the tags yesterday. Well, anyway, I'll put a help wanted label on this. Should be a simple fix for whoever wants to do it.

[jsoref]

Sigh. I'm scatterbrained too and can't figure out how to fix this.

The current text is approximately this:

You can create a .gitignore file, which is a set of ignore rules. For more information, see Ignoring files.

Which is mostly wrong/unhelpful, since you can't really do that. You can create a .gitignore file based on a template (from github/gitignore).

The page you found (https://docs.github.com/en/rest/gitignore/gitignore?apiVersion=2022-11-28) says:

When you create a new repository on GitHub via the API, you can specify a .gitignore template to apply to the repository upon creation.

Which is way more helpful/accurate than the current text I'm complaining about.

Then there's https://docs.github.com/en/get-started/git-basics/ignoring-files (which is linked from both the page subject to this ticket and the url you found) which says:

docs/content/get-started/git-basics/ignoring-files.md

Line 22 in 6258aba

GitHub maintains an official list of recommended `.gitignore` files for many popular operating systems, environments, and languages in the "github/gitignore" public repository. You can also use gitignore.io to create a `.gitignore` file for your operating system, programming language, or IDE. For more information, see [github/gitignore](https://github.com/github/gitignore) and the [gitignore.io](https://www.gitignore.io/) site.

Which violates "Don't repeat yourself" (DRY).

Personally, I'd rather that page said:

GitHub maintains an official list of recommended .gitignore files for many popular operating systems, environments, and languages in the github/gitignore public repository. You can also use gitignore.io to create a .gitignore file for your operating system, programming language, or IDE.

It also says to touch a nonexistent file:

docs/content/get-started/git-basics/ignoring-files.md

Lines 28 to 30 in 6258aba

	```shell
	touch .gitignore
	```

but doesn't suggest git adding the file..., which makes it a really lousy place to link to from a place about repository stuff.

In trying to figure out what this feature does, I left some other notes...

• https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/164980#discussioncomment-14084975
• https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/164980#discussioncomment-14085138
• https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/164980#discussioncomment-14085237

Basically

• you can only select one template,
• it must be a top level template file
• globally useful ignores are not included 😞
• items in the list are sorted case-sensitively (but, there's a type to filter box, and the filtering remains in effect after you selet something, which is confusing when you later change your mind).

---

Anyway, I'm going to replace the current text with text closer to the page you found and link to the page you found, since I believe that's a significant improvement over the current link (and people can still get there from the page you found).