Ignore files that have already been committed to a Git repository

Question

I have an already initialized Git repository that I added a `.gitignore` file to. How can I refresh the file index so the files I want ignored get ignored?

Accepted Answer

To untrack a single file that has already been added/initialized to your repository, i.e., stop tracking the file but not delete it from your system use: `git rm --cached filename`

To untrack every file that is now in your `.gitignore`:

First commit any outstanding code changes, and then, run this command:

```
git rm -r --cached .
```

This removes any changed files from the index(staging area), then just run:

```
git add .
```

Commit it:

```
git commit -m ".gitignore is now working"
```

To undo `git rm --cached filename`, use `git add filename`.

Make sure to commit all your important changes before running `git add .` Otherwise, you will lose any changes to other files.

Please be careful, when you push this to a repository and pull from somewhere else into a state where those files are still tracked, the files will be DELETED

Ignore files that have already been committed to a Git repository

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