Should You Commit .gitignore to Git Repo? Benefits & Drawbacks

Yes, committing the .gitignore file to your Git repository is a best practice endorsed by major platforms like GitHub and Atlassian. It keeps ignore patterns shared across your team, ensures new clones start clean, and crucially, tracks changes to those patterns over time via Git history—perfect for auditing why certain files got ignored later. Drawbacks exist, like accidental over-ignoring, but simple workarounds like local excludes handle them without much fuss.

Contents

• What is a .gitignore File?
• Is Committing .gitignore Best Practice?
• Key Benefits of Committing .gitignore
• Tracking Changes to Ignore Patterns Over Time
• Potential Drawbacks and How to Fix Them
• How to Add and Commit .gitignore
• Real-World Examples and Templates
• Sources
• Conclusion

What is a .gitignore File?

Picture this: you’re knee-deep in a project, and suddenly your repo’s cluttered with temp files, build artifacts, or IDE configs nobody needs. Enter .gitignore. This simple text file tells Git which files or directories to ignore—think *.log, node_modules/, or *.env. Without it, you’d commit junk that bloats history and slows clones.

But why commit it? If it’s local-only, every teammate reinvents the wheel. Sharing via commit means consistency from day one. The Atlassian Git tutorial nails it: uncommitted ignores lead to messy repos where logs and caches sneak in. And GitHub’s own docs echo this—commit .gitignore so everyone gets the same rules on clone.

Short version? It’s your repo’s bouncer. Skip committing, and chaos ensues.

Is Committing .gitignore Best Practice?

Straight up: yes. Stack Overflow threads going back years agree—commit it for shared ignores. GitHub’s official stance? Absolutely, include it in every repo. Why fight it?

Newbies clone your project? They inherit clean rules. CI/CD pipelines? They ignore the right stuff without tweaks. Teams avoid “why’d you commit my .DS_Store?” drama. Even Quora devs chime in: commit for files you’d generate anyway but don’t track.

Exceptions? Rare. Solo projects might skip if patterns never change. But 99% of cases? Commit. It’s the default in most templates.

Key Benefits of Committing .gitignore

Committing .gitignore isn’t just habit—it’s smart workflow. Here’s why it pays off:

• Team Consistency: Everyone ignores the same noise. No more merge conflicts from accidental log commits.
• Onboarding Speed: Cloners get ignore rules instantly. No hunting for “what to add?”
• CI/CD Reliability: Pipelines behave identically everywhere. Builds skip dist/ without custom hacks.
• Repo Cleanliness: Keeps history lean. Less garbage means faster pulls and pushes.

The Graphite guide breaks it down further: it fosters collaboration by standardizing what gets tracked. And Atlassian adds that it prevents “build products” like target/ from sneaking in.

But the real gem? Version control on the rules themselves. More on that next.

Tracking Changes to Ignore Patterns Over Time

Here’s where it gets clever. Commit .gitignore, and Git logs every tweak. Added a new framework? Update ignores, commit—boom, history shows why vendor/ vanished in v2.3.

Ever debug “why isn’t this file tracked anymore?” git log -- .gitignore reveals the commit. Audit trails for the win. Graphite highlights this: patterns evolve, and history proves it. Teams spot outdated rules fast—say, when Python shifts to venv/.

Without commits? Patterns live in ether. One dev tweaks locally; others miss it. Commit, and it’s collaborative evolution. Pro tip: comment lines like # Added for Node 18 for context.

This beats static docs. Your ignore file is the living spec.

Potential Drawbacks and How to Fix Them

No silver bullet. Committing .gitignore has hiccups:

Stack Overflow debates this: GitHub says commit repo-wide rules, exclude personal via info/. Reddit threads agree—globals for IDEs.

Result? Drawbacks shrink to negligible with these tools. Far better than uncommitted chaos.

How to Add and Commit .gitignore

Ready to do it? Dead simple.

1. Create: touch .gitignore
2. Edit: Add patterns like:

# Logs
*.log

# Node
node_modules/
.env

3. Stage: git add .gitignore
4. Commit: git commit -m "Add .gitignore for common ignores"
5. Existing junk? git rm --cached -r . then recommit (careful—re-add wanted files).

DataCamp tutorial walks it step-by-step. For untracking: git rm --cached filename saves history.

Push, and collaborators pull clean. GitHub even suggests templates on init.

Real-World Examples and Templates

Tailor to your stack. Python?

# Python
__pycache__/
*.py[cod]
venv/
.env

VS Code:

.vscode/settings.json

Generators like gitignore.io spit out combos—Docker + Python + macOS. Grab, commit, done.

OpenSource.com pushes it: don’t ignore .gitignore. BMC blogs reinforce: tailor but always commit.

Multi-project? Top-level .gitignore + repo-specific.

Sources

1. GitHub Docs: Ignoring Files — Official guide on committing .gitignore for shared rules: https://docs.github.com/en/get-started/git-basics/ignoring-files
2. Atlassian Git Tutorial: Gitignore — Benefits and drawbacks of .gitignore with examples: https://www.atlassian.com/git/tutorials/saving-changes/gitignore
3. Stack Overflow: Should You Commit .gitignore? — Community consensus on best practices: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5765645/should-you-commit-gitignore-into-the-git-repos
4. Graphite: Gitignore Guide — Tracking pattern changes and collaboration benefits: https://graphite.com/guides/gitignore
5. DataCamp: Gitignore Tutorial — Step-by-step on adding and committing: https://www.datacamp.com/tutorial/gitignore
6. Stack Overflow: Commit Gitignore File? — Discussion of alternatives like local excludes: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/21600439/should-i-commit-gitignore-file
7. OpenSource.com: Don’t Ignore .gitignore — Advocacy for committing in all repos: https://opensource.com/article/20/8/dont-ignore-gitignore

Conclusion

Committing .gitignore streamlines your Git workflow—shared rules, clean histories, and tracking changes to ignore patterns over time make it indispensable for teams or solo long-hauls. Mitigate the few drawbacks with locals and globals, and you’ll wonder how you ever skipped it. Start today: git add .gitignore, commit, push. Your future self (and clones) will thank you.