how to use .gitignore reverse select

Question

use .gitignore to reverse selection,I just want to track the app catalog.App is the secondary directory under emply.

l used The following code,But git doesn't track anything

*
!*/
!*/app

I have already tested similar problems, Write like it, but invalid

Possible duplicate of [Git: inverse ignoring (.gitignore)](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/13398648/git-inverse-ignoring-gitignore) — Andreas, Feb 15 '19 at 04:02

score 7 · Answer 1 · edited Sep 04 '21 at 13:51

I just had a slightly more tricky problem and ended up here, so if this is the case for you as well, here goes:

If you ignore a concrete directory (e.g. /Emply/ in this case) but want to include some of its sub-directories or included files, this will not work:

/Emply/
!/Emply/app  # Does not work!

The reason is that git will not list ignored directories for performance reasons (source). Instead, use the wildcard to ignore all sibling directories and files:

/Emply/*
!/Emply/app  # Works!

It's a bit obscure and just drove me mad.

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 15 '19 at 04:09

4

Ignore everything, unignore top-level app and everything under it:

*
!/app/
!/app/*

answered Feb 15 '19 at 04:09

phd

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it doesn't work,Have you tested it,only !filename work – lisinan Feb 15 '19 at 04:20
I used the wrong directory name just now.you are true,thank you – lisinan Feb 15 '19 at 04:25

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 27 '22 at 15:11

1

Albeit @phd's answer is correct. It won't work if you have other directories nested inside. This should be a more foolproof solution.

*
!/app/
!/app/**/*

answered Oct 27 '22 at 15:11

Omar Omeiri

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how to use .gitignore reverse select

3 Answers3