Why are these files not ignored by git?

Question

My `.gitignore` file contains these lines : ``` xcuserdata/**/* !xcuserdata/**/xcschemes/* ``` But the following file is still tracked `/MyApp/MyApp.xcodeproj/xcuserdata/colas.xcuserdatad/xcdebugger/Breakpoints.xcbkptlist` Why is it so? How can I fix that? PS: If I had `MyApp.xcodeproj/xcuserdata/colas.xcuserdatad/xcdebugger`, the files are ignored. But I don't understand why it does not ignore them without this "hack". EDIT 1 Contrary to what is said in one of the answer, the pattern ``` xcuserdata/**/* !xcuserdata/**/xcschemes/* ``` works !!! I mean, the files under `/xcschemes` are tracked. See also the post Git ignore file for Xcode projects, where I get this `.gitignore` file. EDIT 2 My `Git` version is `1.8.3.4 (Apple Git-47)`. EDIT 3 When I `git check-ignore` this file, here is what I get ``` fatal: Not a git repository (or any of the parent directories): .git ``` But the fact is that a parent directory is a git directory... EDIT 4 When I `git check-ignore --no-index --` this f…

Accepted Answer

First, you can do a `git check-ignore` (git 1.8.3.3+) to see what rule is ignoring your file (assuming it wasn't in the index in the first place)

Second, read "`.gitignore` exclude folder but include specific subfolder":

It is not possible to re-include a file if a parent directory of that file is excluded. (`*`) (`*`: unless certain conditions are met in git 2.8+, see below) Git doesn't list excluded directories for performance reasons, so any patterns on contained files have no effect, no matter where they are defined.

So the file of `xcschemes` wouldn't be un-ignored anyway. You needed to ignore parent folder per parent folder. But a better approach is to ignores files only, and then exclude the folder:

```
xcuserdata/**
!xcuserdata/**/
!xcuserdata/**/xcschemes/**
```

Remember:

You need to exclude folders from the `gitignore` rules before being able to exclude files.

Note that with git 2.9.x/2.10 (mid 2016?), it might be possible to re-include a file if a parent directory of that file is excluded if there is no wildcard in the path re-included.

Nguyễn Thái Ngọc Duy (`pclouds`) is trying to add this feature:

- commit 506d8f1 for git v2.7.0, reverted in commit 76b620d git v2.8.0-rc0

- commit 5e57f9c git v2.8.0-rc0,... reverted(!) in commit 5cee3493 git 2.8.0-rc4.

However:

The directory part in the re-include rules must be literal (i.e. no wildcards)

So that wouldn't have worked here anyway.

Why are these files not ignored by git?

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