IT for operating businesses

Using the git-clean Command

Remove files not tracked by Git from the working tree. More information: <https://git-scm.com/docs/git-clean>.

  • Interactively delete untracked files:

git clean *[-i|--interactive]*

  • Show which files would be deleted without actually deleting them:

git clean *[-n|--dry-run]*

  • Immediately force deletion of all untracked files:

git clean *[-f|--force]*

  • Delete untracked [d]irectories:

git clean *[-f|--force]* -d

  • Delete only untracked files matching specific paths or glob patterns:

git clean *[-f|--force]* -- *path/to/directory* '**.ext*'

  • Delete untracked files except those matching the given patterns:

git clean *[-f|--force]* *[-e|--exclude]* '**.ext*' *[-e|--exclude]* *path/to/directory*/

  • Delete untracked files and e[x]cluded files (those listed in .gitignore and .git/info/exclude):

git clean *[-f|--force]* -x


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