Do I need to commit .gitignore?

Yes — .gitignore should be committed to the repository so all collaborators benefit from the same ignore rules.

How do I add custom patterns?

Open your .gitignore file and add the pattern on a new line. Use # for comments, * for wildcards, / to match directories, and ! to un-ignore a previously ignored path.

How do I ignore a file that is already tracked?

Adding a file to .gitignore does not remove it from tracking if it was previously committed. Run: git rm --cached to stop tracking it without deleting the file locally.

Why is .DS_Store in almost every .gitignore?

.DS_Store stores Finder window settings (icon positions, view preferences). It is machine-specific and clutters diffs for every team member on macOS. It should never be committed.

Should I add macOS patterns to every project?

Yes if any contributor uses macOS. A global ~/.gitignore_global is an alternative that keeps it out of individual repos, but adding it per-repo is safer for teams.

.gitignore for macOS

macOS system files including .DS_Store, Spotlight, and Finder metadata.

Quick presets

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macOS

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17 patterns · 381 B

# Generated by DevZone Tools — https://devzone.tools/tools/gitignore-generator
# Templates: macOS
# 2026-04-20

# ---- macOS ----
# macOS
.DS_Store
.AppleDouble
.LSOverride
Icon
._*
.DocumentRevisions-V100
.fseventsd
.Spotlight-V100
.TemporaryItems
.Trashes
.VolumeIcon.icns
.com.apple.timemachine.donotpresent
.AppleDB
.AppleDesktop
Network Trash Folder
Temporary Items
.apdisk

What this template ignores

Ignores macOS-specific metadata files like .DS_Store (Finder folder settings), .Spotlight-V100 (search index), and AppleDouble resource forks that macOS creates automatically.

Common additions

+*.dmg — disk image files you build locally
+.env — local environment variable files
+Thumbs.db — if sharing repo with Windows users

Commonly paired with

windows linux visualstudiocode Combine →

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to commit .gitignore?: Yes — .gitignore should be committed to the repository so all collaborators benefit from the same ignore rules.
How do I add custom patterns?: Open your .gitignore file and add the pattern on a new line. Use # for comments, * for wildcards, / to match directories, and ! to un-ignore a previously ignored path.
How do I ignore a file that is already tracked?: Adding a file to .gitignore does not remove it from tracking if it was previously committed. Run: git rm --cached <file> to stop tracking it without deleting the file locally.
Why is .DS_Store in almost every .gitignore?: .DS_Store stores Finder window settings (icon positions, view preferences). It is machine-specific and clutters diffs for every team member on macOS. It should never be committed.
Should I add macOS patterns to every project?: Yes if any contributor uses macOS. A global ~/.gitignore_global is an alternative that keeps it out of individual repos, but adding it per-repo is safer for teams.

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