From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Tue, 14 Jun 2016 17:06:16 GMT
Subject: Re: 'untracked working tree files would be overwritten by merge' on ignored files?
Message-ID: <xmqqy467aeev.fsf@gitster.mtv.corp.google.com>
In-Reply-To: <20160614160720.GA22675@inner.h.apk.li>

Andreas Krey <a.krey@gmx.de> writes:

> when I have an ignored file in my workspace, is git
> then also assumed not to remove it in the course
> of a merge?

IIRC, untracked files are kept during merge and across checking out
another branch.  Files that are deliberately marked as ignored by
listing them to .gitignore mechanism are considered expendable, and
they will be removed as necessary.

This is because we do not have the fourth-class, "we do not want to
add them to the history as tracked contents, but we do not want to
lose them", aka "precious"; we only have three, i.e. "paths in the
index", "path that are untracked" and "path that are ignored".