What is a .GITIGNORE file?
The .GITIGNORE file extension refers to a "Git Ignore File," which is used by Git, a system that helps manage changes to source code over time. This file contains a list of other files and folders that Git should ignore, meaning it won't track changes to them or include them when you save (commit) your project changes to your Git repository. This is particularly useful for excluding files that aren't needed in the repository, such as binary files (which are non-text files), operating system-specific files like .DS_STORE (for macOS) and Thumbs.db (for Windows), as well as temporary files that don't need to be shared or stored in the repository.
You can create .GITIGNORE files in any folder within your project to make sure that the ignore rules apply only to that specific part of the project. For example, you might have different ignore rules for files in the /images directory than you do for files in the /scripts directory.
Since .GITIGNORE files are plain text files, you can open and edit them using any text editor, such as Notepad on Windows, TextEdit on macOS in plain text mode, or more advanced code editors like Visual Studio Code or Sublime Text. To work with .GITIGNORE files, you also need to have Git installed, as it is the program that utilizes these files.
In summary, .GITIGNORE files help keep your Git repository clean and free of unnecessary files by specifying which files and folders Git should ignore.
Verification
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