What is a .gitignore file?

A .gitignore file tells Git which files and directories to ignore — not track, not stage, not commit. Common examples are node_modules/, __pycache__/, and .env secrets files.

Is this tool 100% private?

Yes. Template selection and .gitignore generation happen entirely in your browser. Nothing is sent to any server. Generic page-view analytics may record the URL you visit, but never which templates you selected.

Can I combine multiple templates?

Yes — select as many templates as you need. The generator deduplicates overlapping patterns and orders sections consistently (OS → IDE → Language → Framework → Build Tool → Other).

How do I use the raw URL with curl?

Use: curl "https://devzone.tools/tools/gitignore-generator/node-react/raw" > .gitignore. Replace node-react with your combination slug. The raw endpoint returns plain text with the correct Content-Type.

How do I ignore a file that is already tracked by Git?

Adding a file to .gitignore does not untrack it if Git already knows about it. Run: git rm --cached to remove it from tracking without deleting the local file. Then commit the removal.

Gitignore Generator

Generate .gitignore files for any language, framework, or IDE — 100% client-side, no tracking.

Last updated: April 2026

Quick presets

Your selections never leave your browser. Generation happens entirely client-side.

# Select templates above to generate your .gitignore

What it does

100+ templates

Covers every major language (Node, Python, Java, Go, Rust), framework (React, Django, Rails, Laravel), IDE (VS Code, JetBrains, Xcode), OS (macOS, Windows, Linux), and build tool (Gradle, Maven, Cargo).

100% client-side

Your template selections and generated output never leave your browser. No server round-trips, no logging, no cookies required.

Smart deduplication

When multiple templates share patterns (e.g., node_modules/ appears in Node, React, and Express), duplicates are automatically removed so the output stays clean.

Copy, download, or curl

Copy to clipboard, download as .gitignore with the correct filename, or fetch the raw text via curl using the plain-text URL (e.g., /tools/gitignore-generator/node-react/raw).

Shareable path-based URLs

Every selection has a canonical URL (e.g., /tools/gitignore-generator/node-react). Share it with teammates or bookmark it — no query parameters.

Ordered sections

Output follows a consistent section order: OS → IDE → Language → Framework → Build Tool → Other — matching the convention from github/gitignore for familiarity.

How to use Gitignore Generator

1
Search or browse templates
Type in the search box to find your language, framework, or IDE. Filter by category (Languages, Frameworks, IDEs, OS, Build Tools) or use a Quick Preset for common stacks.
2
Select templates
Click templates to add them to your selection. Selected templates appear as chips in the tray. Click the × on any chip to remove it.
3
Review and copy
The output pane updates instantly as you add or remove templates. Click Copy to copy to clipboard, or Download to save the file with the exact filename .gitignore.
4
Add to your project
Paste or move the .gitignore file to the root of your repository and commit it. All collaborators will now benefit from the same ignore rules.

Why .gitignore matters more than you think

A committed node_modules/ directory containing thousands of files is more than a size problem — it creates thousands of "changes" in every diff view, makes git log output noisy, and can inadvertently expose private packages or internally-built tools.

Secrets are the more dangerous issue. A single committed .env, application.properties, or local_settings.py with database credentials or API keys is a permanent part of your repository history. Even if you remove it in a later commit, it remains accessible in the git history and in every clone. The fix (git filter-branch or BFG Repo-Cleaner) is painful and requires force-pushing.

OS patterns vs. project patterns: use both

Many developers add language and framework patterns to their .gitignore but skip OS patterns. This is a mistake. .DS_Store files (macOS) appear in every folder opened in Finder — silently and automatically. Without the macOS template, these will accumulate in every directory of your repository.

A practical approach: add OS and IDE patterns at the repo level, and encourage all team members to also maintain a global ~/.gitignore_global for truly personal preferences. This way OS patterns are committed once and benefit the whole team.

What never to commit: a checklist

Secrets: .env, application.yml, config/master.key, *.pem, *.p12, *.pfx — any file containing passwords, API keys, or certificates.

Build output: node_modules/, dist/, build/, target/, __pycache__/ — these are reproducible from source and bloat history.

Editor state: .idea/, .vscode/ (workspace state), xcuserdata/ — machine-specific and different for each developer.

Logs: *.log, logs/ — these grow unboundedly and add noise to diffs.

Database files: *.sqlite3, db.sqlite3 — local development data that should not be shared.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a .gitignore file?: A .gitignore file tells Git which files and directories to ignore — not track, not stage, not commit. Common examples are node_modules/, __pycache__/, and .env secrets files.
Is this tool 100% private?: Yes. Template selection and .gitignore generation happen entirely in your browser. Nothing is sent to any server. Generic page-view analytics may record the URL you visit, but never which templates you selected.
Can I combine multiple templates?: Yes — select as many templates as you need. The generator deduplicates overlapping patterns and orders sections consistently (OS → IDE → Language → Framework → Build Tool → Other).
How do I use the raw URL with curl?: Use: curl "https://devzone.tools/tools/gitignore-generator/node-react/raw" > .gitignore. Replace node-react with your combination slug. The raw endpoint returns plain text with the correct Content-Type.
How do I ignore a file that is already tracked by Git?: Adding a file to .gitignore does not untrack it if Git already knows about it. Run: git rm --cached <filename> to remove it from tracking without deleting the local file. Then commit the removal.