.gitignore exclude folder but include specific subfolder

Question

I have a folder `application/`, which I add to the `.gitignore`. Inside the `application/`-folder there is a folder `application/language/gr`. How can I include this folder? I've tried this: ``` application/ !application/language/gr/ ```

Accepted Answer

If you exclude `application/`, then everything under it will always be excluded (even if some later negative exclusion pattern (“unignore”) might match something under `application/`).

To do what you want, you have to “unignore” every parent directory of anything that you want to “unignore”. Usually you end up writing rules for this situation in pairs: ignore everything in a directory, but not some certain subdirectory.

```
# you can skip this first one if it is not already excluded by prior patterns
!application/

application/*
!application/language/

application/language/*
!application/language/gr/
```

Note The trailing `/*` is significant:

- The pattern `dir/` excludes a directory named `dir` and (implicitly) everything under it. With `dir/`, Git will never look at anything under `dir`, and thus will never apply any of the “un-exclude” patterns to anything under `dir`.

- The pattern `dir/*` says nothing about `dir` itself; it just excludes everything under `dir`. With `dir/*`, Git will process the direct contents of `dir`, giving other patterns a chance to “un-exclude” some bit of the content (`!dir/sub/`).

.gitignore exclude folder but include specific subfolder

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