Advanced .gitignore Patterns
Master sophisticated .gitignore techniques for complex projects. Learn regex patterns, advanced wildcards, negation rules, and performance optimization strategies.
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Expert Level Content
This guide covers advanced techniques. Ensure you're comfortable withbasic .gitignore usagebefore proceeding.
🎯 Pattern Complexity Mastery
1Advanced Wildcard Patterns
🌟 Sophisticated Matching
Character Classes:
# Match any single digit
file[0-9].txt
# Match any letter
temp[a-z].log
# Match specific characters
backup[123].sql
# Negated character class
data[!0-9].csv
Multiple Extensions:
# Multiple extensions
*.log
*.tmp
*.cache
*.bak
# Multiple prefixes
debug_*.txt
test_*.txt
temp_*.txt
⚡ Performance Examples
✅ Efficient
# Specific and targeted
src/**/*.test.js
logs/[0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9]/*.log
❌ Inefficient
# Too broad, slows Git
**/*.*
**/[a-z]*/**/*
2Advanced Negation Techniques
⚠️ Negation Order Matters
Git processes .gitignore patterns sequentially. Negation patterns must come AFTER the patterns they override.
✅ Correct Order
# Ignore all logs first
*.log
# Then allow important.log
!important.log
# Ignore temp directory
temp/
# But keep temp/keep.txt
!temp/keep.txt
❌ Wrong Order
# Won't work - negation first
!important.log
*.log
# Won't work - directory ignored
!temp/keep.txt
temp/
🎯 Complex Negation Scenarios
Scenario: Ignore all config files except production
# Ignore all config files
config/*.json
# Keep production configs
!config/production.json
!config/prod-*.json
Scenario: Ignore build outputs but keep documentation
# Ignore entire build directory
build/
# Keep documentation in build
!build/docs/
!build/**/*.md
# But ignore temp docs
build/docs/temp/
🛠️ Advanced Tools & Validation
🔍 Advanced Pattern Validator
Test complex patterns, analyze performance impact, and validate regex-style matching.
✓ Performance analysis ✓ Pattern complexity scoring ✓ Regex validation
📊 .gitignore Analyzer
Analyze existing .gitignore files for optimization opportunities and potential issues.
✓ Performance bottlenecks ✓ Redundant patterns ✓ Security gaps