Cleaning Untracked Files
git clean removes untracked files from the working tree. It can be useful for returning a build directory to a clean state, but it is destructive because untracked files are not recoverable through Git history.
Always use a dry run first with git clean -n.
Untracked Files Are Not Versioned
Git cannot recover an untracked file after git clean removes it. Always preview the operation first.
Preview Before Cleaning
git clean -n
git clean -nd
git clean -fd💡
-n previews files, -d includes untracked directories, and -f performs the deletion. Never use destructive cleanup blindly.Key Takeaways
git clean -nis the safest first step.- Untracked files are outside normal commit history.
- Use
.gitignoreto prevent generated files from repeatedly appearing as untracked.
Knowledge Check
What does `git clean -n` do?