Global .gitignore

Dan Croak

Set a .gitignore file to apply across all projects on your local machine with:

git config --global core.excludesfile ~/.gitignore

The only ignored pattern I have right now is:

*.swp

That ignores temporary files created by vim.

I used to ignore those files in each project I worked on but then I recognized my presumptuousness: not every teammate on every project is also using vim.

For them, that line is unnecessary.

We might say, “Who cares? It’s only one line.” but I appreciate it when my teammates are similarly disciplined so I ought to apply The Golden Rule.

“Programming at its best is an act of empathy.” - Kent Beck

What else do you have in your global ~/.gitignore?

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