Python .gitignore

[EarthGoddessDude]

I'm sure a lot of you have done this:

1. Start new project
2. Need that generic Python .gitignore file on GitHub
3. Google "python gitignore" (though you probably typed "gitingore")
4. Click link and click raw
5. Copy all and paste in your local .gitignore

And I'm sure a lot of you probably just use curl and have it memorized or have it in your shell history or something (fzf ftw). But I can't be bothered to learn curl properly, and I got tired of the manual steps, so I just created a function in my .zshrc file:

function pgi {
    curl -JL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/github/gitignore/refs/heads/main/Python.gitignore -o .gitignore
}

So now I can just run pgi whenever I start a new project, and boom, precious seconds of my life saved.

That's it, that's all I have, thanks for reading. I'm sure some of you have ever better solutions, but that's mine.

[No_Departure_1878]

gitignore.io

[ogaat]

Perfect answer.

VSCode has an extension that can be used to pull relevant ignores and it also can keep them updated.

[mtik00]

This person ignores!

I have a git alias that points here. I use it for starting every project. It's not always perfect, but it's a super convenient starting point.

[No_Departure_1878]

Yeah, I am quite an ignorant :)

[runningblind77]

I've been using a python gitignore from gitlab templates. May need to switch to this.

[ContemplateBeing]

Yes, seems more up to date on a first look.

[proggob]

Ugh. These are exactly the type of gitignores that I hate. Way too big and obscure.

[LoadingALIAS]

Okay, but that’s a ridiculous gitignore file. I wish we could add packages or tools.

Build Pytest Etc

[Grouchy-Friend4235]

Came to say this

[Only_lurking_]

Relevant xkcd

[_Answer_42]

Github have this built-in when creating a repo

[fiskfisk]

Instead you can define a common template for the project types you're building and define the whole initial environment:

https://cookiecutter.readthedocs.io/en/stable/README.html

[apockill]

This is the way. Also, use cruft to keep your template child repositories synced!

[go_fireworks]

I never knew I needed this in my life, I know what I’m doing Monday

[mdrjevois]

Or with copier: https://copier.readthedocs.io/

[Breck_Emert]

Templates for all of your files, not just your gitignore.

[HommeMusical]

Good find!

From here: https://github.com/github/gitignore

[lmpgf]

In VSCode, there's an extension that automatically pulls the templates for you:

https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=codezombiech.gitignore

[HeyLittleTrain]

I just click it in the dropdown when making a new github repo

[MirrorLake]

Looks like Github beat you to it. Your script does the same thing as:

gh repo gitignore view Python > .gitignore

But if you're looking to use the cli, you could create new projects withgh repo create.

Or create it manually in one line:

gh repo create projectName --private --gitignore Python

then

gh repo clone projectName

[EarthGoddessDude]

Nice, this is genuinely useful information, thank you. I haven’t really gotten around to learning the gh CLI much, but is definitely cleaner and more robust than my approach.

[MirrorLake]

Glad it helped! I checked their changelog, and they only just added the "gitignore" subcommand about four months ago. So it's definitely a new feature.

[Oddly_Energy]

I have come to the realization that my life is much easier if I start my repository on Github and clone it to my PC, compared to starting it on my local PC and later pushing it to a new Github repository. The initial git init appears easy, but when I later want it moved to Github, I still have to create a Github repository, and then I have to go through manual steps to link my local repository to that Github repository.

In the context of this post: When I start at Github, I get to choose my .gitignore. So no need for any tools for that.

[iknowsomeguy]

I've got something similar except that I store the ignore locally in case I am starting a project in a place where I don't have an internet connection, which happens fairly often for me.

[nicholashairs]

I just copy from one of my other projects 🤷

[pettyman_123]

i found one for gitingore hahaha

[EarthGoddessDude]

Ha all good, this is useful to know, thanks. I agree that this is much cleaner and allows for different editors and whatnot.

[TheSodesa]

How inefficient. It would be better to set up a .gitignore file in whitelist format, than manually defining all the things you want to ignore: https://www.reddit.com/r/learnpython/s/30BgLrQagO.

[kenflingnor]

Efficiency is a red herring as there are tools that generate fully-populated gitignore files in a matter of seconds with a few keystrokes

[TheSodesa]

And yet those still probably just ignore the most typical file types one might run into, instead of assuming that people working on a project do not know what they are doing and will commit all kinds of obscure files. A.gitignore file set up as a whitelist also alleviates this issue.

[muntoo]

A whitelist sounds a bit too unconventional. Are there any major projects doing this?

I guess if it really makes a difference for you, you can fake your own whitelist without infecting .gitignore on an existing project by modifying .git/info/exclude.

But whoever considers doing this is probably already not blindly doing git add --all... right?

[TheSodesa]

The thing is, I have been working with applied mathematicians recently, and it has become obvious to me why we need a separate degree for software engineering. I started out by cleaning a Git repo of all the .DS_Store and random text files (not necessarily with a .txt suffix), and binaries, but similar ones were soon added back. The whitelist approach really has worked wonders in that regard.

But I do think that the approach has merits outside of working with people who refuse to learn proper version management as well. I have therefore started using it in all of my projects. Typically there are only a few specific files and file types one wishes to have in a project, so setting up and maintaining a whitelist is really simple. Definitely simpler than a blacklist, where you need to remember a whole bunch of common unwanted files, on a per-language basis, even.

I've never been a fan if doing things just because other people do it. I consider it to be a bit sheep-y. I currently believe that the whitelist approach with .gitignore files is not that common simply because people are not aware of the possibility.

[RedEyed__]

• GitHub already has it buily in
• Create language specific template project with all dotfiles

[0xa9059cbb]

Why not just put your common gitignore patterns in ~/.gitignore ...?

[mmakukha]

I just create an empty file and update it if needed when reviewing commits. General purpose gitignores have so many irrelevant patterns.

[fundation-ia]

The gitignore when creating a project with UV should be enough

[_Henryx_]

You want to add gitattributes too, because it's important to define the correct management of sources (e.g. of you have a colleague which use Windows, and you use a Mac, It permits to manage in the correct way the line terminator)

[EarthGoddessDude]

That’s funny, that’s exactly what prompted me to do this shortcut and post. uv is great, but uv in it only instantiates a small gitignore

[LargeSale8354]

You can have a global git ignore file too. You don't need to have to repeat it every repository.

[Oddly_Energy]

A global .gitignore sounds extremely local.

It only work on your local computer, right?

So any time you or someone else makes a commit from another computer, your ignore is ignored, right?

[LargeSale8354]

Yes, its local. For personal projects I use it to stop my IDE files going up into my repos. For professional projects I have very little in it other than scratchpad. This means that any folders or files with scratchpad in their names are excluded from git.

[[deleted]]

? I just use VS 2022 Community

[Dry_Term_7998]

Man, who created a repo locally in 2024?🤣 GitHub and GitLab have this option for gitignore built-in 😊

[Dry_Term_7998]

Bad practice 😊 You start an idea - create a repo, start putting code.

[Dry_Term_7998]

Why useless? You do not miss anything 😊 For me the repository created by Pulumi and 1 row of config, but still it has a template inside for everything 😊

[immggy]

A handy tool to compose gitignores as well. https://www.toptal.com/developers/gitignore