Should I commit my .gitignore file?

Yes. The .gitignore file should always be committed to your repository so all team members share the same ignore rules.

What is the difference between .gitignore and .gitignore_global?

.gitignore in your repo affects only that project. ~/.gitignore_global (configured with git config --global core.excludesfile) applies to all your repos. Put OS/editor patterns in the global file.

Why is node_modules/ ignored?

node_modules/ contains thousands of files that can be recreated by running npm install. Committing it wastes storage, slows clones, and causes merge conflicts. Always ignore it and document the install step in your README.

.gitignore Generator

Generators

Generate .gitignore files for Node, Python, React, Go, and 20+ more stacks

By DevToolHQ teamUpdated 2026-04-15100% client-sideMethodology

100% client-side processing

Select project types

3 stacks selected

Generated .gitignore

# Environment & secrets
.env
.env.local
.env.development.local
.env.test.local
.env.production.local
.env*.local
*.pem
*.key
*.p12
*.pfx

# Logs
logs/
*.log
npm-debug.log*

# OS generated
.DS_Store
Thumbs.db

# Node.js
node_modules/
npm-debug.log*
yarn-debug.log*
yarn-error.log*
pnpm-debug.log*
.npm
.yarn-integrity
package-lock.json
yarn.lock
.pnp
.pnp.js

# 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

# VS Code
.vscode/*
!.vscode/settings.json
!.vscode/tasks.json
!.vscode/launch.json
!.vscode/extensions.json
!.vscode/*.code-snippets
.history/
*.vsix

62 lines · 759 characters

About .gitignore Generator

Generates .gitignore files for any combination of languages, frameworks, editors, and operating systems. Select from 21+ technology stacks — Node.js, Python, React, Next.js, Go, Rust, Java, Flutter, iOS, Android, and more — plus editor-specific patterns for VS Code, JetBrains, Vim, and Emacs, and OS-generated files for macOS (.DS_Store), Windows (Thumbs.db), and Linux. When you select multiple stacks, the patterns from each are merged and deduplicated into a single .gitignore file organized by section. This is the correct approach for polyglot projects — a Next.js project with Python scripts and developed in JetBrains needs patterns from all three sources. Generating them separately and concatenating leaves you with duplication and missed patterns. The generated file follows the format used by the gitignore.io project, which is the community standard. Patterns use glob syntax: trailing / means directory, leading / means root-relative, ** matches across directory levels. The .gitignore file should always be committed to your repository so the ignore rules are shared across all contributors. For patterns specific to your local environment that should not be shared (like IDE personal settings or local config overrides), use .git/info/exclude instead.