GitIgnore Assistant
A Visual Studio Code extension to easily add, remove, or clean entries in your .gitignore file.
Features
- Add or remove files and folders from the workspace
.gitignore using the Explorer or Command Palette.
- Clean the
.gitignore file by removing duplicates, and optionally removing comments and empty lines, and sort entries.
- Ensure configured base entries (e.g.
.DS_Store) are always present.
- Duplicate detection is case-sensitive but ignores leading/trailing whitespace (e.g.
node_modules, /node_modules , and /node_modules/ are considered duplicates).
- Automatically create a
.gitignore if one does not exist, seeded with the configured base entries.
- Follow common Git best practices when adding and cleaning entries (can be disabled in settings):
- All files and folders are anchored with a leading
/ (e.g. /package.json, /.vscode/, /public/build/), except for single root dotfiles (e.g. .env, .DS_Store).
- Folder entries include a trailing slash (e.g.
/node_modules/), except for symbolic links which are treated as files.
Usage
- In the Explorer, right-click a file or folder.
- Choose
Add to .gitignore to append it to the .gitignore file.
- Choose
Remove from .gitignore to delete an existing entry.
- While editing the workspace
.gitignore file, Clean .gitignore is available in the editor context menu.
Commands can also be invoked from the Command Palette (⌘⇧P / Ctrl+Shift+P). When adding/removing from the palette, you'll be prompted to select one or more files or folders.
Requirements
This extension operates on the .gitignore file located at the root of the workspace. It does not manage .gitignore files in subfolders or handle global Git ignore files.
Extension Settings
Base Entries
Defines the list of entries that should always be present in the workspace .gitignore. These entries are automatically ensured whenever files are added, removed, or the Clean command is run. You can remove the default .DS_Store entry or add your own (e.g. /node_modules/, .env) to customize the behavior.
Add With Leading Slash
All entries are added with a leading / (e.g. /README.md, /public/build), except for single root dotfiles (e.g. .env, .DS_Store). Enabled by default to follow common Git best practices. This setting only affects new entries and will not be applied when cleaning existing entries.
Trailing Slash For Folders
Folder entries will be added AND cleaned with a trailing slash (e.g. /node_modules/), except for symbolic links. Enabled by default to follow common Git best practices.
Remove Empty Lines
Control whether the Clean command removes all empty lines. Disabled by default to preserve intentional spacing in the .gitignore.
Control whether the Clean command removes all comment lines (lines starting with #). Disabled by default to preserve intentional comments in the .gitignore.
Sort When Cleaning
Control whether Clean command sorts entries alphabetically. Disabled by default to preserve the existing order of entries.
Show Notifications
When enabled, the extension will show notifications when files or folders are added or removed from .gitignore, show a summary of the Clean command, as well as warnings if an operation cannot be completed. When disabled, extension logs can still be found in the Output Panel under GitIgnore Assistant.
