How to Create gitignore File for Java

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MD Aminul Islam Feb 02, 2024
Java Java Git
  1. Overview of the .gitignore File for Java
  2. Rules to Follow to Create the .gitignore File Manually
  3. Example of the .gitignore File in Java
How to Create gitignore File for Java

Today’s tutorial discusses the .gitignore file for Java via example and lists the rules to follow while creating .gitignore manually.

Overview of the .gitignore File for Java

In Git, the term ignore is used not to track files that the Git should ignore, and it doesn’t affect the other files that are already tracked. For example, sometimes, we wish not to send specific files to the Git service like Github.

There is a file named .gitignore through which we can specify the files that need to be ignored. In General, this file is machine-generated. Some commonly specified files in the .gitignore are listed below:

  • The dependence on Caches.
  • Compiled codes.
  • Build output directories, like /bin, /out, or /target.
  • Some runtime file generated, like .log, .lock, or .tmp.
  • Hidden system files, like Thumbs.db or .DS_Store.
  • Your IDE config files.

Rules to Follow to Create the .gitignore File Manually

When we are trying to create a .gitignore file manually, you have to follow the below rules:

  • Git ignores the lines starting with # or the Blank lines.
  • Should only follow the Standard glob patterns and apply it recursively.
  • To avoid recursively, we can start the patterns with a /.
  • To specify a directory, we can end the patterns with /.
  • To negate a pattern, we need to start it with a !.

Example of the .gitignore File in Java

Below is an example of a .gitignore specially generated for the Intellij IDE projects. Let’s take a look.

### Intellij ###
# Covers JetBrains IDEs: IntelliJ, RubyMine, PhpStorm, AppCode, PyCharm, CLion, Android Studio, WebStorm, and Rider
# Reference: https://intellij-support.jetbrains.com/hc/en-us/articles/206544839

# User-specific stuff
.idea/**/workspace.xml
.idea/**/tasks.xml
.idea/**/usage.statistics.xml
.idea/**/dictionaries
.idea/**/shelf

# AWS User-specific
.idea/**/aws.xml

# Generated files
.idea/**/contentModel.xml

# Sensitive or high-churn files
.idea/**/dataSources/
.idea/**/dataSources.ids
.idea/**/dataSources.local.xml
.idea/**/sqlDataSources.xml
.idea/**/dynamic.xml
.idea/**/uiDesigner.xml
.idea/**/dbnavigator.xml

# Gradle
.idea/**/gradle.xml
.idea/**/libraries

# Gradle and Maven with auto-import
# When using Gradle or Maven with auto-import, you should exclude module files,
# since they will be recreated and may cause churn.
Uncomment if using
# auto-import.
# .idea/artifacts
# .idea/compiler.xml
# .idea/jarRepositories.xml
# .idea/modules.xml
# .idea/*.iml
# .idea/modules
# *.iml
# *.ipr

# CMake
cmake-build-*/

# Mongo Explorer plugin
.idea/**/mongoSettings.xml

# File-based project format
*.iws

# IntelliJ
out/

# mpeltonen/sbt-idea plugin
.idea_modules/

# JIRA plugin
atlassian-ide-plugin.xml

# Cursive Clojure plugin
.idea/replstate.xml

# SonarLint plugin
.idea/sonarlint/

# Crashlytics plugin (for Android Studio and IntelliJ)
com_crashlytics_export_strings.xml
crashlytics.properties
crashlytics-build.properties
fabric.properties

# Editor-based Rest Client
.idea/httpRequests

# Android studio 3.1+ serialized cache file
.idea/caches/build_file_checksums.ser

### Intellij Patch ###
# Comment Reason: https://github.com/joeblau/gitignore.io/issues/186#issuecomment-215987721

# *.iml
# modules.xml
# .idea/misc.xml
# *.ipr

# Sonarlint plugin
# https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/7973-sonarlint
.idea/**/sonarlint/

# SonarQube Plugin
# https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/7238-sonarqube-community-plugin
.idea/**/sonarIssues.xml

# Markdown Navigator plugin
# https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/7896-markdown-navigator-enhanced
.idea/**/markdown-navigator.xml
.idea/**/markdown-navigator-enh.xml
.idea/**/markdown-navigator/

# Cache file creation bug
# See https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/JBR-2257
.idea/$CACHE_FILE$

# CodeStream plugin
# https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/12206-codestream
.idea/codestream.xml

# Azure Toolkit for IntelliJ plugin
# https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/8053-azure-toolkit-for-intellij
.idea/**/azureSettings.xml

### Java ###
# Compiled class file
*.class

# Log file
*.log

# BlueJ files
*.ctxt

# Mobile Tools for Java (J2ME)
.mtj.tmp/

# Package Files #
*.jar
*.war
*.nar
*.ear
*.zip
*.tar.gz
*.rar

# virtual machine crash logs, see http://www.java.com/en/download/help/error_hotspot.xml
hs_err_pid*
replay_pid*

# End of https://www.toptal.com/developers/gitignore/api/java,intellij

The .gitignore file must be in a root directory.

Author: MD Aminul Islam
MD Aminul Islam avatar MD Aminul Islam avatar

Aminul Is an Expert Technical Writer and Full-Stack Developer. He has hands-on working experience on numerous Developer Platforms and SAAS startups. He is highly skilled in numerous Programming languages and Frameworks. He can write professional technical articles like Reviews, Programming, Documentation, SOP, User manual, Whitepaper, etc.

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