Git: Stop Tracking Accidentally Committed Files

Introduction

If you have files that were previously committed to your Git repository and are now listed in your .gitignore file, you need to explicitly “untrack” them. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to stop tracking the _site folder so it no longer appears in your Git menu.

Step 1: Remove the Folder from the Git Index

First, you need to remove the _site folder and its contents from the Git staging area, also known as the index. This will tell Git to stop tracking these files, without deleting them from your local file system.

Open your terminal or command prompt and navigate to the root of your Git repository. Then run the following command:

git rm -r --cached _site

Here’s a breakdown of the command: * git rm: This is the command to remove files from the index and the working directory. * -r: This flag stands for “recursive,” which is necessary to remove an entire folder and its contents. * --cached: This is the crucial flag that only removes the files from the index, leaving your local files untouched.

Step 2: Commit the Changes

After removing the _site folder from the index, you need to commit this change to your repository. This will finalize the “uncommitting” of these files.

git commit -m "Stop tracking _site folder"

This command creates a new commit that reflects the removal of the _site folder from Git’s tracking.

Step 3: Verify Your .gitignore File

Ensure that your .gitignore file includes an entry for the _site folder. This will prevent the files from being accidentally re-added in future commits. Open your .gitignore file and make sure it contains the following line:

_site/

Step 4: Push the Changes (Optional)

If you are working with a remote repository (like on GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket), you will need to push your changes to update the remote repository.

git push

While this process will not delete the _site folder from your local machine, it will remove it from other developers’ machines when they perform a git pull. This is the expected behavior, as the folder is now being ignored by Git.