git-ignore-io

List available templates

$ git ignore-io list

$ git ignore-io [item_a,item_b,...]

git-ignore-io <templates...>
git-ignore-io -l | --list
git-ignore-io -s | --search <query>
git-ignore-io -a | --append <templates...>

<templates...>
    One or more template names (e.g., linux,macos,windows,java,python) to generate a `.gitignore` file for. Multiple templates should be comma-separated or space-separated depending on the specific `git-ignore-io` implementation. The output is typically printed to standard output.

-l, --list
    Lists all available `.gitignore` templates supported by the gitignore.io service. This is useful for discovering what templates are available.

-s, --search <query>
    Searches for templates that match the provided query string. This helps in finding specific templates without having to list all of them.

-a, --append <templates...>
    Generates the `.gitignore` content for the specified templates and appends it to an existing .gitignore file in the current directory. If the file does not exist, it may create it.

The git-ignore-io command is a convenient command-line interface for the popular gitignore.io web service. It allows developers to quickly fetch and generate `.gitignore` files tailored to specific operating systems, programming languages, IDEs, and other development environments. Instead of manually creating or searching for boilerplate `.gitignore` content, this command automates the process by querying the extensive template library hosted on gitignore.io.

This utility streamlines the initial setup of Git repositories by ensuring that common project-specific files (like build artifacts, temporary files, and OS-generated metadata) are correctly ignored from version control, leading to cleaner repositories and preventing accidental commits of irrelevant data. It typically acts as a wrapper around HTTP requests (often using `curl`) to the web service's API, fetching the generated content and printing it to standard output or appending it to an existing `.gitignore` file.

This command relies on an active internet connection to communicate with the `gitignore.io` web service. It is not a core Git command but rather a community-contributed utility or shell script that wraps the web service's API. The exact options and behavior might vary slightly depending on the specific implementation of `git-ignore-io` being used, as there isn't one official distribution bundled with Git.

Many developers configure `git-ignore-io` as a Git alias for even quicker access. For example, by adding `ignore = !git-ignore-io` to your Git configuration (e.g., `~/.gitconfig`), you could then run `git ignore java,python` to generate your `.gitignore` file. This integrates the functionality directly into the Git command suite, making it feel like a native Git command.

While `git-ignore-io` primarily relies on the online service, some advanced implementations might include caching mechanisms or allow for pre-downloading templates to enable limited offline functionality. However, the standard usage requires network connectivity to fetch the latest templates from `gitignore.io`.

The `gitignore.io` web service was launched around 2012 by Joe Blau, providing a convenient way to generate `.gitignore` files for various projects. Following its success, numerous command-line wrappers and aliases (often named `git-ignore-io`, `gio`, or similar) emerged in the developer community. These tools were developed to integrate the service seamlessly into command-line workflows, allowing developers to generate and manage `.gitignore` files directly from their terminals without needing to visit the website, thereby enhancing productivity.

git(1), curl(1), cat(1), grep(1)