In one of the projects I work on, I led the migration of the version control system from TFS to Git. One of the points that requires special attention in this process is the correct management of git ignore (.gitignore) file, especially if you work in a team and do not develop alone. That’s because Visual Studio works with a series of files that customize the developer’s environment by controlling publishing, compilation and a number of other things and in a team environment, we want everyone to be able to work and customize their environment independently. If the management of git ignore is not done well, environment configuration files will end up in version control and then the mess is done.
There are also a number of other particularities to look at when managing git ignore, such as files that are generated at compile time; we usually don’t want those files in version control, so we should pay attention on how to handle those.
I did a search on the internet and found a project on github that helped me a lot in this git ignore management process in this migration and that’s why I believe it’s worth the record: A collection of .gitignore templates (https://github.com/github/gitignore). I even made a contribution to the project including a template for excluding minified files (https://github.com/tgoliveira11/gitignore/tree/MinifiedFiles), one of the challenges of my migration process.
Another thing I learned in pain: how to handle files that shouldn’t be in version control and ended up being included due to errors in the management of git ignore. To solve this problem, it is necessary in addition to including the exception in git ignore file, remove from version control the files that should not be there, before including the exception, because while the files are there, the git ignore exception will not work.
Here an exemple of the compiled .gitignore file on April 2022:
## Ignore Visual Studio temporary files, build results and
## files generated by popular Visual Studio add-ons.
##
## Get latest from https://github.com/github/gitignore/blob/main/VisualStudio.gitignore
# User-specific files
*.rsuser
*.suo
*.user
*.userosscache
*.sln.docstates
# User-specific files (MonoDevelop/Xamarin Studio)
*.userprefs
# Mono auto generated files
mono_crash.*
# Build results
[Dd]ebug/
[Dd]ebugPublic/
[Rr]elease/
[Rr]eleases/
x64/
x86/
[Ww][Ii][Nn]32/
[Aa][Rr][Mm]/
[Aa][Rr][Mm]64/
bld/
[Bb]in/
[Oo]bj/
[Ll]og/
[Ll]ogs/
# Visual Studio 2015/2017 cache/options directory
.vs/
# Uncomment if you have tasks that create the project's static files in wwwroot
#wwwroot/
# Visual Studio 2017 auto generated files
Generated\ Files/
# MSTest test Results
[Tt]est[Rr]esult*/
[Bb]uild[Ll]og.*
# NUnit
*.VisualState.xml
TestResult.xml
nunit-*.xml
# Build Results of an ATL Project
[Dd]ebugPS/
[Rr]eleasePS/
dlldata.c
# Benchmark Results
BenchmarkDotNet.Artifacts/
# .NET Core
project.lock.json
project.fragment.lock.json
artifacts/
# ASP.NET Scaffolding
ScaffoldingReadMe.txt
# StyleCop
StyleCopReport.xml
# Files built by Visual Studio
*_i.c
*_p.c
*_h.h
*.ilk
*.meta
*.obj
*.iobj
*.pch
*.pdb
*.ipdb
*.pgc
*.pgd
*.rsp
*.sbr
*.tlb
*.tli
*.tlh
*.tmp
*.tmp_proj
*_wpftmp.csproj
*.log
*.tlog
*.vspscc
*.vssscc
.builds
*.pidb
*.svclog
*.scc
# Chutzpah Test files
_Chutzpah*
# Visual C++ cache files
ipch/
*.aps
*.ncb
*.opendb
*.opensdf
*.sdf
*.cachefile
*.VC.db
*.VC.VC.opendb
# Visual Studio profiler
*.psess
*.vsp
*.vspx
*.sap
# Visual Studio Trace Files
*.e2e
# TFS 2012 Local Workspace
$tf/
# Guidance Automation Toolkit
*.gpState
# ReSharper is a .NET coding add-in
_ReSharper*/
*.[Rr]e[Ss]harper
*.DotSettings.user
# TeamCity is a build add-in
_TeamCity*
# DotCover is a Code Coverage Tool
*.dotCover
# AxoCover is a Code Coverage Tool
.axoCover/*
!.axoCover/settings.json
# Coverlet is a free, cross platform Code Coverage Tool
coverage*.json
coverage*.xml
coverage*.info
# Visual Studio code coverage results
*.coverage
*.coveragexml
# NCrunch
_NCrunch_*
.*crunch*.local.xml
nCrunchTemp_*
# MightyMoose
*.mm.*
AutoTest.Net/
# Web workbench (sass)
.sass-cache/
# Installshield output folder
[Ee]xpress/
# DocProject is a documentation generator add-in
DocProject/buildhelp/
DocProject/Help/*.HxT
DocProject/Help/*.HxC
DocProject/Help/*.hhc
DocProject/Help/*.hhk
DocProject/Help/*.hhp
DocProject/Help/Html2
DocProject/Help/html
# Click-Once directory
publish/
# Publish Web Output
*.[Pp]ublish.xml
*.azurePubxml
# Note: Comment the next line if you want to checkin your web deploy settings,
# but database connection strings (with potential passwords) will be unencrypted
*.pubxml
*.publishproj
# Microsoft Azure Web App publish settings. Comment the next line if you want to
# checkin your Azure Web App publish settings, but sensitive information contained
# in these scripts will be unencrypted
PublishScripts/
# NuGet Packages
*.nupkg
# NuGet Symbol Packages
*.snupkg
# The packages folder can be ignored because of Package Restore
**/[Pp]ackages/*
# except build/, which is used as an MSBuild target.
!**/[Pp]ackages/build/
# Uncomment if necessary however generally it will be regenerated when needed
#!**/[Pp]ackages/repositories.config
# NuGet v3's project.json files produces more ignorable files
*.nuget.props
*.nuget.targets
# Microsoft Azure Build Output
csx/
*.build.csdef
# Microsoft Azure Emulator
ecf/
rcf/
# Windows Store app package directories and files
AppPackages/
BundleArtifacts/
Package.StoreAssociation.xml
_pkginfo.txt
*.appx
*.appxbundle
*.appxupload
# Visual Studio cache files
# files ending in .cache can be ignored
*.[Cc]ache
# but keep track of directories ending in .cache
!?*.[Cc]ache/
# Others
ClientBin/
~$*
*~
*.dbmdl
*.dbproj.schemaview
*.jfm
*.pfx
*.publishsettings
orleans.codegen.cs
# Including strong name files can present a security risk
# (https://github.com/github/gitignore/pull/2483#issue-259490424)
#*.snk
# Since there are multiple workflows, uncomment next line to ignore bower_components
# (https://github.com/github/gitignore/pull/1529#issuecomment-104372622)
#bower_components/
# RIA/Silverlight projects
Generated_Code/
# Backup & report files from converting an old project file
# to a newer Visual Studio version. Backup files are not needed,
# because we have git ;-)
_UpgradeReport_Files/
Backup*/
UpgradeLog*.XML
UpgradeLog*.htm
ServiceFabricBackup/
*.rptproj.bak
# SQL Server files
*.mdf
*.ldf
*.ndf
# Business Intelligence projects
*.rdl.data
*.bim.layout
*.bim_*.settings
*.rptproj.rsuser
*- [Bb]ackup.rdl
*- [Bb]ackup ([0-9]).rdl
*- [Bb]ackup ([0-9][0-9]).rdl
# Microsoft Fakes
FakesAssemblies/
# GhostDoc plugin setting file
*.GhostDoc.xml
# Node.js Tools for Visual Studio
.ntvs_analysis.dat
node_modules/
# Visual Studio 6 build log
*.plg
# Visual Studio 6 workspace options file
*.opt
# Visual Studio 6 auto-generated workspace file (contains which files were open etc.)
*.vbw
# Visual Studio 6 auto-generated project file (contains which files were open etc.)
*.vbp
# Visual Studio 6 workspace and project file (working project files containing files to include in project)
*.dsw
*.dsp
# Visual Studio 6 technical files
*.ncb
*.aps
# Visual Studio LightSwitch build output
**/*.HTMLClient/GeneratedArtifacts
**/*.DesktopClient/GeneratedArtifacts
**/*.DesktopClient/ModelManifest.xml
**/*.Server/GeneratedArtifacts
**/*.Server/ModelManifest.xml
_Pvt_Extensions
# Paket dependency manager
.paket/paket.exe
paket-files/
# FAKE - F# Make
.fake/
# CodeRush personal settings
.cr/personal
# Python Tools for Visual Studio (PTVS)
__pycache__/
*.pyc
# Cake - Uncomment if you are using it
# tools/**
# !tools/packages.config
# Tabs Studio
*.tss
# Telerik's JustMock configuration file
*.jmconfig
# BizTalk build output
*.btp.cs
*.btm.cs
*.odx.cs
*.xsd.cs
# OpenCover UI analysis results
OpenCover/
# Azure Stream Analytics local run output
ASALocalRun/
# MSBuild Binary and Structured Log
*.binlog
# NVidia Nsight GPU debugger configuration file
*.nvuser
# MFractors (Xamarin productivity tool) working folder
.mfractor/
# Local History for Visual Studio
.localhistory/
# Visual Studio History (VSHistory) files
.vshistory/
# BeatPulse healthcheck temp database
healthchecksdb
# Backup folder for Package Reference Convert tool in Visual Studio 2017
MigrationBackup/
# Ionide (cross platform F# VS Code tools) working folder
.ionide/
# Fody - auto-generated XML schema
FodyWeavers.xsd
# VS Code files for those working on multiple tools
.vscode/*
!.vscode/settings.json
!.vscode/tasks.json
!.vscode/launch.json
!.vscode/extensions.json
*.code-workspace
# Local History for Visual Studio Code
.history/
# Windows Installer files from build outputs
*.cab
*.msi
*.msix
*.msm
*.msp
# JetBrains Rider
*.sln.iml
# css min
*.min.css
# js min
*.min.js
To work on .gitignore file, on Visual Studio, you must be on “Folder View”.
If there is not .gitignore file on your solution, just create a new file named .gitignore
