git-check-ignore

Check if file is ignored

$ git check-ignore [file.txt]

$ git check-ignore -v [file.txt]

$ git check-ignore [file1.txt] [file2.txt]

$ echo "[path]" | git check-ignore --stdin

$ git check-ignore *

git check-ignore [options] pathspec

git check-ignore debugs gitignore patterns. It reports whether paths are ignored and which pattern causes the ignore, helping troubleshoot gitignore rules.
The verbose mode (-v) shows the gitignore file, line number, and pattern responsible for ignoring a path. This is essential for debugging complex gitignore configurations with multiple .gitignore files at different directory levels.
The --non-matching option combined with -v can also show why a file is not being ignored, helping diagnose cases where files unexpectedly appear in git status output.

PATHSPEC

File paths to check.

Show source and pattern.

Read paths from stdin.

NUL-terminate output.

Show non-matching paths.

Exit with status only.

Display help information.

.gitignore

Pattern list specifying intentionally untracked files to ignore. Multiple .gitignore files can exist at different directory levels.

User-level global ignore patterns applied to all repositories.

System-wide core.excludesFile configuration pointing to global ignore file.

Only checks patterns, not actual files. Nested gitignore files have priority. Negation patterns can override ignores.

git check-ignore was added to Git to help debug gitignore rules, addressing common frustration with ignore pattern behavior.

git-status(1), gitignore(5)