Ignore Local Files Without Modifying .gitignore Using .git/info/exclude

Use .git/info/exclude to ignore personal scratch files, local debug scripts, and notes without polluting your team's shared .gitignore file.

When working on a shared repository, you often create temporary files for local testing: a quick scratchpad (scratchpad.md), a temporary debugging script (debug_local.php), or a folder of personal investigation notes (/notes/).

A common developer habit is adding those personal patterns to the project's root .gitignore file. However, .gitignore is committed and tracked in version control. Adding personal, one-off file patterns creates noisy pull request diffs and forces team members to adopt ignore rules they do not need.

Git provides a built-in repository-local ignore file: .git/info/exclude.

Three Scopes of Git Ignore Rules

Understanding where to place an ignore pattern depends on who needs the rule:

.gitignore
  ↓
Shared project rules (Committed and tracked by the entire team)

.git/info/exclude
  ↓
Personal rules for this clone only (Uncommitted, stored inside .git/)

Global Gitignore (~/.gitignore)
  ↓
Personal rules across all repositories on your machine (e.g. .DS_Store, .vscode/)

How to Use .git/info/exclude

Every Git repository includes a .git/info/exclude file by default. Because it lives inside the .git directory, it is never committed or pushed to remote repositories.

Open the file in your preferred editor:

code .git/info/exclude

Add your personal patterns using standard .gitignore syntax:

# Personal scratchpad and experimental scripts
scratchpad.md
debug_local.php
experimental_*.php

# Local private notes
/personal-notes/

# Local custom test database dump
local_dump.sql

After saving the file, running git status will no longer report matching files under "Untracked files", and running git add . will not accidentally stage them.

Important: .git/info/exclude Only Ignores Untracked Files

Like .gitignore, adding a pattern to .git/info/exclude applies strictly to untracked files.

If a file is already tracked in Git history, adding it to .git/info/exclude will not prevent Git from tracking subsequent changes to it.

If you need to stop tracking a file that was previously committed while keeping your local copy on disk, you must remove it from the Git index:

git rm --cached path/to/file.txt

(Note: git rm --cached stages a deletion in Git history for the next commit, so only use it if the file should truly be removed from the shared repository for all contributors).

Decision Guide: Which Ignore Scope to Use

Summary

• Use .gitignore for shared project ignore rules that every team member needs.
• Use .git/info/exclude to ignore personal scratch files and temporary scripts in a specific repository without modifying committed files.
• Use a global Gitignore (core.excludesFile) for operating system and editor artifacts across all repositories on your machine.