Untrack files from git temporarily
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Temporarily Untrack Files in Git: A Comprehensive Guide
Learn how to temporarily untrack files from your Git repository without deleting them, using git update-index --assume-unchanged and git rm --cached.
Sometimes, during development, you might have files in your Git repository that you want to keep locally but don't want Git to track changes for. This could be configuration files, log files, or temporary build artifacts that are specific to your local environment. While adding these to .gitignore is the permanent solution for new files, what about files that are already tracked? This article explores methods to temporarily untrack files, ensuring your local changes don't accidentally get committed or pushed.
Understanding the Problem: Already Tracked Files
When a file is already committed to your Git repository, adding it to .gitignore will prevent future new files with the same name from being tracked, but it won't stop Git from tracking changes to the existing file. If you make local modifications to an already tracked file that's in .gitignore, Git will still show it as modified. This often leads to unnecessary merge conflicts or accidental commits of local-only changes.
assume-unchanged, should be done with caution. It's easy to forget that a file is untracked, leading to lost changes if you're not careful. Always prefer .gitignore for files that should never be tracked.Method 1: Using git update-index --assume-unchanged
The git update-index --assume-unchanged command tells Git to assume that a file has not changed, even if it has. This is useful for local configuration files that you don't want to commit but are already tracked. Git will ignore subsequent modifications to these files, treating them as if they haven't been touched. This is a client-side setting and doesn't affect other developers.
git update-index --assume-unchanged path/to/your/file.txt
Marking a specific file to be assumed unchanged by Git.
To revert this, telling Git to track changes again, you use the --no-assume-unchanged flag:
git update-index --no-assume-unchanged path/to/your/file.txt
Reverting the 'assume-unchanged' flag for a file.
assume-unchanged, you can use git ls-files -v | grep ^h.Method 2: Using git rm --cached
The git rm --cached command removes a file from the Git index (staging area) but keeps the file in your working directory. This effectively untracks the file. After running this command, you should immediately add the file to your .gitignore to prevent it from being accidentally re-added in the future. This approach is more permanent than assume-unchanged in the sense that it requires a commit to remove the file from tracking in the repository history.
git rm --cached path/to/your/file.txt
echo "path/to/your/file.txt" >> .gitignore
git commit -m "Untrack path/to/your/file.txt"
Untracking a file and adding it to .gitignore, then committing the change.
This method is preferred when you want to permanently untrack a file from the repository for all collaborators, while still keeping a local copy for yourself. The commit ensures that the file is no longer tracked in the repository's history from that point forward.
Decision flow for untracking Git files.
When to Use Each Method
Choosing between assume-unchanged and git rm --cached depends on your specific needs:
git update-index --assume-unchanged: Use this for files that are already tracked and you want Git to temporarily ignore your local modifications without affecting other developers or the repository's history. This is ideal for personal configuration adjustments.git rm --cached: Use this for files that are already tracked and you want to permanently remove them from Git's tracking for everyone, while keeping your local copy. After using this, always add the file to.gitignoreto prevent it from being re-added. This creates a commit that affects the repository history.
1. Step 1
Identify the tracked file(s) you wish to untrack temporarily, e.g., config.local.js.
2. Step 2
Decide if the untracking is purely local (use assume-unchanged) or if it should be reflected in the repository for all (use git rm --cached).
3. Step 3
For local-only untracking, execute git update-index --assume-unchanged path/to/your/file.txt.
4. Step 4
For permanent untracking, execute git rm --cached path/to/your/file.txt, then add path/to/your/file.txt to your .gitignore file, and finally commit these changes: git commit -m "Untrack config.local.js".
5. Step 5
Verify the file's status using git status to ensure it's no longer tracked as expected. If you used assume-unchanged, git status should not show changes to the file. If you used git rm --cached, the file should appear as untracked.