Ignore files that have already been committed to a Git repository

Question

I have an already initialized Git repository that I added a .gitignore file to. How can I refresh the file index so the files I want ignored get ignored?

Answer 1

To stop keeping track of a single file that has already been added or initialized to your repository, use the following command:

git rm --cached filename

Note: This command will stop tracking the file but not delete it from your system.  

But if you want to ignore every file that is now in your .gitignore follow the steps given below: 

Step 1: Commit any outstanding code changes

Step 2: Then run the  following command which will remove any changed files from the staging area

git rm -r --cached .

Step 3: Then run the following command:

git add .

Step 4: Now commit it with the following command:

git commit -m ".gitignore is now working"

For more information please go through the following tutorial to get more info about git: