Stop tracking a generated file while keeping it locally.
Git: Removing a path from the index leaves its working copy intact when cached is specified.
set -euo pipefail
git rm --cached note.txt >/dev/null
test -f note.txt
git diff --cached --name-statusExpected output EXAMPLE
D note.txt
Details
Requires Git and Bash. Run in a disposable practice repository. The test setup below creates the starting files and commits. Removing a path from the index leaves its working copy intact when cached is specified. The input setup creates a disposable practice repository with a fictional local author identity. Run these examples only in that repository.
Add a suitable ignore rule if the file should not be staged again.
Tested on Ubuntu 24.04.5 LTS · · git version 2.43.0 · git 1:2.43.0-1ubuntu7.3
Test inputs, results and environment
The exact published code ran in a dedicated Linux test container with prepared inputs. Snippet process uid 65534 with a read-only root filesystem and temporary working files. Networking disabled. Fixtures and output records are isolated from the application database. Testing covers this example and its stated checks, not every input, operating system, or runtime version. The Linux container shares its host's kernel; this is not a native Windows test.
- Architecture / host kernel
- x86_64 / 6.18.54.1-microsoft-standard-WSL2
- Snippet identity / locale
- uid=65534, gid=65534 (unprivileged process) / C.UTF-8
- Interpreter invocation
bash -euo pipefail -c <published code>- Container image ID
sha256:ec91410a8f6ec3e985830b5e3a0560306d36f8c1c5ccd91a6699abe707123fa3- Code SHA-256
380e8a47ed6c3718aa6528fa0ca352586431d1d07d40424403418a81a9c2e7fb- Dependencies
- git 1:2.43.0-1ubuntu7.3
Test input setup
These are the prepared inputs used by the test harness. See Details above for the prerequisites and how to run this example.
git init -q -b main git config user.name 'Example Developer' git config user.email 'developer@example.invalid' git config commit.gpgsign false git config tag.gpgsign false git config color.ui false printf 'first ' > note.txt git add note.txt git commit -qm 'Initial notes'
Observed standard output
D note.txt
Exit code: 0. Standard error: empty. Validation: Exact stdout comparison. System-dependent values above are one recorded run.