.gitignore Generator - Online Ignore File Maker

Yes. On top of preset templates you can add project-specific paths, and lines duplicating a template are deduplicated at merge time. For niche tools, write custom lines instead of waiting for a template. A sound habit: broad rules first, then ! exceptions to re-include files that must be tracked (order matters), and end directory rules with a slash for clarity.

Ignore rules only affect untracked files: anything Git already tracks keeps being committed, so remove it from the index first. Empty directories are never tracked to begin with (make sure the placeholder file is not ignored), and lock files in some languages should stay tracked for reproducible builds.

Only before the commit happens. A .gitignore cannot help with keys already in history — rotate them first, then scrub the history. Env files, keys, and private keys are exactly what ignore rules should target first.

Two: the repo-root .gitignore for collaborative commits, and a build-context ignore file (such as .dockerignore) for image size. Entries overlap, but the jobs differ; cross-check with a Dockerfile tool so dependency directories do not bloat the image build context.

It is free. Template selection, dedupe-on-merge, and the final output all happen in your local browser, as often as you like.