Git ignored file is being tracked even after git rm and git checkout

Question

Git is an awesome beast of an SCM. Yet I am endlessly perplexed by an issue.

I have a config file which are in the .gitignore and not in the master branch on origin (via git show -- config/mongo.yml). However on my branch, which was checked out from origin/master and worked on for a while, the file is being tracked somehow and when I git rm and git checkout out from origin/master again, the files stay in my repo but disappear for everyone else on my team. I ran git rm --cached as well, and as a last resort I ran:

git update-index --assume-unchanged -- config/mongo.yml

Which I have used many times to good effect on ignored files, and the branch was small enough to redo. However, this doesn't seem to be the fix. I really would just like to know the "why" of this and understand the problem, since that is 3/4 of the solution!! :)

How could I have it in my .gitignore and then it shows up tracked after git rm config/mongo.yml and git checkout origin/master -- config/mongo.yml?

Not sure about the exact answer, but I think there might be a branch conflict, where one branch is tracking the file and another branch isn't tracking the file. What do you get when you do **git status** — Jason Kim, May 10 '12 at 21:03
# Changes to be committed: # (use "git reset HEAD ..." to unstage) # # new file: config/mongo.yml — Eric Steen, May 10 '12 at 21:09
but since git rm and git rm --cached should completely remove the file from being tracked, this should not happen in my understanding. — Eric Steen, May 10 '12 at 21:14
what command are you using to commit? are you doing this by any chance? `git commit -am "blah blah"` — Jason Kim, May 10 '12 at 21:16
I don't think `ruby`, `ruby-on-rails`, or `gitx` are relevant tags for this question. — echristopherson, May 10 '12 at 22:52
If it's worth anything the reset I tend to use in situations like this is `git reset --hard HEAD` — mikebob, May 11 '12 at 01:57

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered May 11 '12 at 03:11

Things I've tried when something's odd:

removing that file from .gitignore and switching to a commit that doesn't have that file (and doesn't have it in .gitignore).

git ls-files --cached --ignored --exclude-standard in every checkout whose behavior I'm having trouble explaining. I do it every so often anyway.

git log --all --decorate --oneline --graph path/to/your/cuckoo, that shows everywhere that file's status or contents changed. You can get gitk to do the same thing, bring up a new View.

Also, try cloning to a neighbor directory, it'll hardlink everything but the checked-out content so space isn't a factor. That'll get you a pristine worktree without losing state in your current one, you can experiment there and git clean -dfx to clean up any messes casually.

Git ignored file is being tracked even after git rm and git checkout

1 Answers1