Gitignore Hygiene

Maintains gitignore patterns and cleans cached files from git tracking.

Trigger Conditions

Invoke when:

After making commits
New file types appear (build artifacts, logs)
Before pushing to remote
User says "check gitignore", "clean git"

Also invoke explicitly with:

/gitignore-hygiene
"clean up gitignore"
"check for unwanted files"

Procedure

Step 1: Scan for Unwanted Files

Check for common patterns that should be ignored:

# Check for tracked files that should be ignored
git ls-files | grep -E '\.(log|env|pem|key)$'
git ls-files | grep -E '^(node_modules|dist|build|coverage)/'

Step 2: Check Current Gitignore

Read .gitignore and identify missing patterns:

| Category | Patterns to Check | |----------|-------------------| | Dependencies | node_modules/, .pnpm-store/, vendor/ | | Build | dist/, build/, .svelte-kit/, .next/, .nuxt/ | | Test | coverage/, test-results/, playwright-report/ | | IDE | .idea/, .vscode/, .swp | | OS | .DS_Store, Thumbs.db | | Environment | .env, .env.local, .env..local | | Logs | .log, npm-debug.log | | Cache | .cache/, .turbo/, .eslintcache | | Credentials | *.pem, *.key, credentials.json |

Step 3: Detect Project Type

Adjust patterns based on detected stack:

Node.js / TypeScript:

node_modules/
dist/
.turbo/

Svelte / SvelteKit:

.svelte-kit/
build/

Next.js:

.next/
out/

Python:

__pycache__/
*.pyc
.venv/
.pytest_cache/

Rust:

target/
Cargo.lock  # for libraries

Step 4: Report Findings

If issues found:

Gitignore hygiene check:

Missing patterns:
  + coverage/          (test artifacts)
  + playwright-report/ (test artifacts)
  + .turbo/            (cache)

Tracked files that should be ignored:
  - coverage/lcov.info
  - test-results/results.xml

Recommended actions:
1. Add missing patterns to .gitignore
2. Remove cached files from tracking

Run: git rm -r --cached coverage/ test-results/

If no issues:

Gitignore hygiene check: All clear

No unwanted files tracked.
All common patterns present.

Step 5: Apply Fixes (With Confirmation)

Add missing patterns:

echo "coverage/" >> .gitignore
echo "test-results/" >> .gitignore

Remove cached files:

git rm -r --cached coverage/
git rm -r --cached test-results/

Commit the cleanup:

git add .gitignore
git commit -m "chore: update gitignore patterns

Added:
- coverage/
- test-results/
- playwright-report/

Removed from tracking:
- coverage/lcov.info
- test-results/results.xml

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>"

Pattern Categories

Always Include

These patterns should be in every project:

# OS files
.DS_Store
Thumbs.db

# IDE
.idea/
.vscode/
*.swp
*.swo

# Environment
.env
.env.local
.env.*.local

# Logs
*.log

Language-Specific

Node.js:

node_modules/
.pnpm-store/
npm-debug.log*
yarn-debug.log*
yarn-error.log*

TypeScript:

dist/
*.tsbuildinfo

Testing:

coverage/
.nyc_output/
test-results/
playwright-report/

Framework-Specific

SvelteKit:

.svelte-kit/
build/

Next.js:

.next/
out/

Vite:

dist/
.vite/

Dangerous Patterns

Never ignore these (warn if present):

| Pattern | Risk | |---------|------| | src/ | Ignoring source code | | *.ts | Ignoring all TypeScript | | package.json | Ignoring manifest | | .gitignore | Recursive ignore |

Skill Chaining

After Commits

Run hygiene check after commits to catch:

Accidentally committed build artifacts
Missing patterns for new file types

Before Push

Run hygiene check before pushing:

Ensure no credentials are tracked
Verify build artifacts are ignored

With project-init

project-init creates comprehensive .gitignore. This skill maintains it over time.

Terminal Chain

After any commit session: repo-hygiene (final cleanup)

Rationalizations (Do Not Skip)

| Rationalization | Why It's Wrong | Required Action | |-----------------|----------------|-----------------| | "Just one file" | One file becomes many | Add pattern | | "I'll clean later" | Later is never | Clean now | | "It's not sensitive" | Build artifacts bloat repo | Remove from tracking | | "Gitignore is fine" | Projects evolve | Verify regularly |

Example Session

/gitignore-hygiene

Scanning project...

Found issues:

1. Missing patterns:
   + .turbo/           (detected turbo usage)
   + playwright-report/ (detected playwright)

2. Tracked files to remove:
   - .turbo/cache/abc123
   - playwright-report/index.html

Actions:
[1] Add patterns to .gitignore
[2] Remove cached files
[3] Skip

> 1

Updated .gitignore with:
  + .turbo/
  + playwright-report/

> 2

Removed from tracking:
  - .turbo/cache/ (42 files)
  - playwright-report/ (15 files)

Ready to commit? [y/n]

Notes

Never modifies .git directory
Preserves existing .gitignore structure
Warns about potentially dangerous patterns
Creates backup before modifying
Works with both root and package gitignores in monorepos