# [PATCH] Documentation/gitignore.txt: Fix the seriously misleading priority explanation 3 messages from 2007-07-21 to 2007-07-22. Participants: David Kastrup, Junio C Hamano. Thread: https://gitlist.dev/t/9131 ## David Kastrup, 2007-07-21 23:53 Subject: [PATCH] Documentation/gitignore.txt: Fix the seriously misleading priority explanation Message-ID: <85wswtp8va.fsf@lola.goethe.zz> URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/85wswtp8va.fsf%40lola.goethe.zz ``` Signed-off-by: David Kastrup --- Documentation/gitignore.txt | 22 ++++++++++++++-------- 1 files changed, 14 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-) diff --git a/Documentation/gitignore.txt b/Documentation/gitignore.txt index ea79d74..9c83095 100644 --- a/Documentation/gitignore.txt +++ b/Documentation/gitignore.txt @@ -18,21 +18,26 @@ pattern. When deciding whether to ignore a path, git normally checks `gitignore` patterns from multiple sources, with the following -order of precedence: +order of precedence, from highest to lowest (within one level of +precedence, the last matching pattern decides the outcome): - * Patterns read from the file specified by the configuration - variable 'core.excludesfile'. - - * Patterns read from `$GIT_DIR/info/exclude`. + * Patterns read from the command line for those commands that support + them. * Patterns read from a `.gitignore` file in the same directory - as the path, or in any parent directory, ordered from the - deepest such file to a file in the root of the repository. + as the path, or in any parent directory, with patterns in the + higher level files (up to the root) being overriden by those in + lower level files down to the directory containing the file. These patterns match relative to the location of the `.gitignore` file. A project normally includes such `.gitignore` files in its repository, containing patterns for files generated as part of the project build. + * Patterns read from `$GIT_DIR/info/exclude`. + + * Patterns read from the file specified by the configuration + variable 'core.excludesfile'. + The underlying git plumbing tools, such as gitlink:git-ls-files[1] and gitlink:git-read-tree[1], read `gitignore` patterns specified by command-line options, or from @@ -49,7 +54,8 @@ Patterns have the following format: - An optional prefix '!' which negates the pattern; any matching file excluded by a previous pattern will become - included again. + included again. If a negated pattern matches, this will + override lower precedence patterns sources. - If the pattern does not contain a slash '/', git treats it as a shell glob pattern and checks for a match against the -- 1.5.2.3 -- David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum ``` ## Junio C Hamano, 2007-07-22 06:04 Subject: Re: [PATCH] Documentation/gitignore.txt: Fix the seriously misleading priority explanation Message-ID: <7v4pjxt1nk.fsf@assigned-by-dhcp.cox.net> URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/7v4pjxt1nk.fsf%40assigned-by-dhcp.cox.net In-Reply-To: <85wswtp8va.fsf@lola.goethe.zz> ``` Your rewrite makes "patterns found in deeper file overrides the ones in shallower ones" rule much much easier to read. Thanks. ``` ## David Kastrup, 2007-07-22 09:12 Subject: Re: [PATCH] Documentation/gitignore.txt: Fix the seriously misleading priority explanation Message-ID: <85wswsol98.fsf@lola.goethe.zz> URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/85wswsol98.fsf%40lola.goethe.zz In-Reply-To: <7v4pjxt1nk.fsf@assigned-by-dhcp.cox.net> ``` Junio C Hamano writes: > Your rewrite makes "patterns found in deeper file overrides the > ones in shallower ones" rule much much easier to read. Thanks. Well, it is nice for a change to be able to explain something in a way that people understand. -- David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum ```