git-ignore-command

A custom command for git to manage the gitignore file (with help from gitignore.io)

Installation

Copy the file git-ignore somewhere on your PATH so that it can be found by git.

NOTE: this application has only been tested on Linux, although I have tried to make it as cross-platform as possible. I am not sure if git on Windows will be able to execute Python files with a shebang (#!/usr/bin/env python3) in custom commands.

cp git-ignore ~/.local/bin/ && chmod +x ~/.local/bin/git-ignore

To ensure the command installed properly, run the following. If properly installed, a list of all languages supported by gitignore.io will be displayed in the terminal.

git ignore --list

Usage

Find the path of .gitignore file

This command will display the absolute path to the .gitignore file that applies to the top level git repository in your current directory or a parent. If you are in a submodule, it will find the .gitignore file of the parent module.

If this command is run outside of a git repository or a .gitignore file does not exist, it will display nothing.

git ignore --find

Example output:

/home/me/prg/.gitignore

List all available languages

This command will display a list, one per line, of all available languages that have .gitignore templates on gitignore.io.

This command can be run outside of a git repository.

git ignore --list

Example output:

1c
1c-bitrix
a-frame
actionscript
...

Display templates for a selection of languages

This command will query for a template from gitignore.io and print it to the terminal. After --list put all of the languages you want in the template. Your existing gitignore, if any, will not be modified.

This command can be run outside of a git repository.

git ignore --list c++ python

Example output:

# Created by https://www.gitignore.io/api/c++
# Edit at https://www.gitignore.io/?templates=c++

### C++ ###
# Prerequisites
*.d

# Compiled Object files
*.slo
*.lo
*.o
...

Append a template for a language to your gitignore file

This command will query gitignore.io for one (or more) languages and append the resulting template to your gitignore file. The .gitignore file applies to the top level git repository in your current directory or a parent. If you are in a submodule, it will find the .gitignore file of the parent module.

If no .gitignore file exists, one will be created in the root of your top level repository and named .gitignore.

The program will attempt to de-duplicate byte-identical directives that are in the existing .gitignore file (if available). It cannot detect directives that are slightly different (e.g. whitespace) but otherwise semantically identical to an existing directive. It tries to keep comments/errors and is not idempotent if the same languages are appended multiple times.

NOTE: Since directives later in the file take priority over conflicting directives earlier in the file, there is a chance that partially-de-duped directives may end up out of the expected order. When dealing with a complex .gitignore, it is recommended to double check the whole file and make sure it still is sensible.

git ignore -a c++ python

If you wish to override the default destination of the gitignore file when appending, add the argument -f or --file. This argument removes the need to run the command from within a git repository.

git ignore -a code -f ~/prg/py/.gitignore

Display the contents of the gitignore file in the terminal

This is generally a shortcut equivalent to cating the result of git ignore --find.

git ignore

If you wish to override the default destination of the gitignore file when appending, add the argument -f or --file. This argument removes the need to run the command from within a git repository.

git ignore -f ~/prg/py/.gitignore