.gitignore: How do I ignore nested directories?

Question

I have the following directory structure:

test/a
test/b/c
test/a/b/Ouput
test/c/d/e/Output
test/f/Output

I want to ignore all the "Output" directories under "test". I tried test/**/Output, but it didn't work. What am I doing wrong?

@hammar, since v1.8.2 (March, 8th 2013), git accept ** in .gitignore files — Leszek Jasek, Aug 19 '16 at 14:35

Chin Huang · Accepted Answer · 2014-08-13T18:32:55.963

57

You said you want the Output/ pattern to match only under the test/ directory, so in the test/ directory, create a .gitignore file with the contents:

Output/

If you put this pattern in your top-level .gitignore file, then it will match in all directories under the top directory.

edited Aug 13 '14 at 18:32

answered Oct 02 '12 at 06:24

Chin Huang

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What if I want to do it in my toplevel `.gitignore`? – artagnon Oct 02 '12 at 06:26
@RamkumarRamachandra: Why don't you want it in your `test/.gitignore`? You've said that you only want the `Output` pattern to match under the `test` directory so this is where the pattern naturally belongs. – CB Bailey Oct 02 '12 at 06:32
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Consider `Output/` instead of `Output`. The question asks to ignore directories called `Output`. – CB Bailey Oct 02 '12 at 06:33
No one answered the earlier question: Yes, this will also work in the top-level `.gitignore`. – Neil Traft Aug 12 '14 at 22:51
It really saves the day! – kayochin Aug 28 '20 at 12:27

score 37 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 19 '16 at 14:51

37

Since version 1.8.2 (March, 8th 2013), git supports ** in .gitignore files, so using test/**/Output/ will ignore only Output sub-directories under test directory.

answered Aug 19 '16 at 14:51

Leszek Jasek

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This is a more elegant solution than the accepted answer. – user3496912 Sep 14 '22 at 21:40

.gitignore: How do I ignore nested directories?

2 Answers2

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