Managing Files and the Index

File Categories in Git

Git classifies files in your project into three categories.

Tracked Files

Tracked files are files that Git already knows about.

These files:

• Were committed in the past, or
• Have been changed and staged using git add

Examples include:

• Source code files
• Configuration files already stored in the repository

Git actively monitors these files for changes.

Ignored Files

Ignored files are files that Git is instructed to completely ignore.

Ignored files:

• Do not appear in git status
• Are listed in a .gitignore file

Common ignored files include:

• Build outputs
• Temporary files
• Log files

Example .gitignore file:

*.o
*.log

This configuration tells Git to ignore all .o and .log files.

Overriding Ignore Rules

Ignore rules can be overridden using an exclamation mark (!).

Example:

*.ko
!my_driver.ko

This means:

• Ignore all .ko files
• Except my_driver.ko

Untracked Files

Untracked files are files that Git sees but does not track yet.

These files:

• Exist in the working directory
• Are not ignored
• Have not been added using git add

Once you add an untracked file with git add, it becomes a tracked file.

File Status Summary

File Type	Git Behavior
Tracked	Git tracks and records changes
Ignored	Git completely ignores the file
Untracked	Git sees the file but does not track it

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Basic File Commands

git add

The git add command stages files for the next commit.

What it does:

• Adds new files
• Stages modified files
• Does not save changes permanently

Example:

git add myfile.txt

Useful options:

• git add . stages all files
• git add -u stages only tracked files
• git add -i allows interactive staging

Changes are only staged and are not part of the repository history until you commit them.

git rm

The git rm command removes a file and stages its deletion.

Important points:

• Removes the file from the working directory
• Stages the removal
• Does not erase the file from Git history

Example:

git rm myfile.txt

Remove from Git but Keep the File Locally

git rm --cached myfile.txt

This is useful if:

• A file was added by mistake
• You want Git to stop tracking the file

git mv

The git mv command renames or moves a file and stages the change.

Example:

git mv oldfile.txt newfile.txt

This is equivalent to:

mv oldfile.txt newfile.txt
git rm oldfile.txt
git add newfile.txt

Git handles renaming efficiently because it tracks file content, not filenames.

Effect of File Commands

Command	Working Directory	Staging Area	Commit History
git add	No change	Updated	No change
git rm	File removed	Updated	No change
git mv	File renamed	Updated	No change

The commit history changes only after running git commit.

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Listing Files in Git

git ls-files

The git ls-files command shows files tracked by Git.

git ls-files

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Show Untracked Files

git ls-files --others --exclude-standard

• --others shows untracked files
• --exclude-standard respects .gitignore rules

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Summary

Git classifies files as tracked, ignored, or untracked. Commands like git add, git rm, and git mv control which files are staged and later committed to the repository.