git-ignore-gen

Interactive CLI that scans your project for untracked files and suggests .gitignore patterns based on actual project state.

Features

• Project-aware scanning: Analyzes git status to identify untracked files
• Smart pattern detection: Suggests ignore rules based on file extensions, naming patterns, and directory structures
• Interactive selection: Presents detected patterns with explanations and allows selective inclusion
• High confidence matching: Uses pattern recognition with confidence scoring
• Category grouping: Organizes patterns by type (dependencies, build, logs, system, etc.)
• Safe operations: Supports dry-run mode and update mode to preserve existing .gitignore
• Enhanced pattern support: Now includes patterns for Python, Java, IDE files, and more frameworks

Installation

npm install -g git-ignore-gen

Or run directly with npx:

npx git-ignore-gen

Usage

Basic Usage

Scan your current directory and show suggested patterns:

git-ignore-gen

Interactive Mode

Select which patterns to include interactively:

git-ignore-gen --interactive

Update Existing .gitignore

Add new patterns to an existing .gitignore file:

git-ignore-gen --update

Dry Run

Preview suggestions without writing files:

git-ignore-gen --dry-run

Custom Path

Scan a specific repository:

git-ignore-gen --path /path/to/repo

Example Output

🔍 Checking git repository...
✓ Git repository detected
✓ Found 15 untracked files
✓ Detected 6 potential patterns

📋 Detected Patterns:

  node_modules/
    Node.js dependencies directory
    Confidence: [██████████] 95%
    Examples: node_modules/lodash/, node_modules/react/

  *.log
    Log files
    Confidence: [████████░░] 85%
    Examples: error.log, debug.log

  dist/
    Distribution build directory
    Confidence: [████████░░] 88%
    Examples: dist/bundle.js, dist/index.html

✅ Added 6 patterns to .gitignore

How It Works

1. Scans git status: Reads untracked files from your repository
2. Detects patterns: Matches files against common ignore patterns
3. Scores confidence: Ranks patterns based on match frequency
4. Generates .gitignore: Creates organized, commented .gitignore file

Supported Patterns

The tool recognizes common patterns for:

• Dependencies: node_modules/, vendor/, venv/, .venv/
• Build artifacts: dist/, build/, .next/, .nuxt/, target/, __pycache__/, *.pyc
• Logs: *.log, npm-debug.log*, yarn-debug.log*, yarn-error.log*
• System files: .DS_Store, Thumbs.db, .idea/, .vscode/
• Config: .env.local
• Test coverage: coverage/
• Cache: .cache/
• IDE files: IntelliJ IDEA, VS Code, Sublime Text project files
• Python: Virtual environments, bytecode cache, compiled files
• Java: Gradle build system files
• Web frameworks: Next.js, Nuxt.js, Jekyll, SASS

Options

Usage: git-ignore-gen [options]

Options:
  -i, --interactive  Interactive mode with pattern selection
  -u, --update       Update existing .gitignore instead of overwriting
  -d, --dry-run      Show suggestions without writing files
  -p, --path <path>  Path to git repository (default: current directory)
  -h, --help         Display help
  -V, --version      Display version

Use Cases

• New projects: Quickly create comprehensive .gitignore files
• Forgotten patterns: Detect files that should have been ignored
• Code review: Ensure proper git hygiene before commits
• Template augmentation: Enhance existing .gitignore with project-specific patterns

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

MIT

Author

sulthonzh