Linux .gitignore Template Explained

Linux.gitignore is a short 6-line template that deals only with by-products of the Linux desktop and file systems. It is also the kind of template that fits well in a personal global gitignore.

Each rule targets files that appear only in specific situations. For example, .nfs* appears only on NFS mounts and .fuse_hidden* only on FUSE file systems.

Rules explained

Pattern	What it ignores and why
*~	Editor backupsfilename~ backups that Emacs, gedit, nano and others leave when saving. It ignores every file whose name ends with a tilde.
.fuse_hidden*.nfs*	FUSE and NFS temporary filesFiles the file system renames to postpone actual deletion when an open file is deleted. They disappear when the process closes the file.
.directory	KDE folder settingsA file in which the KDE Dolphin file manager stores folder view settings.
.Trash-*	TrashPer-user Trash folders (.Trash-1000) created when files are deleted from removable media or another partition.
nohup.out	Background run logsThe file where output accumulates by default when a command is run with nohup.

Practical notes

• The *~ rule is also in the Vim template. If you pick both templates, the duplicate-removal option collapses it into one line.
• If you intentionally keep nohup logs on a server, redirect them to a different name (nohup cmd > run.log 2>&1 &).
• If you use JetBrains or VS Code on a Linux desktop, also select the template for that editor.

Original template

*~# temporary files which can be created if a process still has a handle open of a deleted file.fuse_hidden*# Metadata left by Dolphin file manager, which comes with KDE Plasma.directory# Linux trash folder which might appear on any partition or disk.Trash-*# .nfs files are created when an open file is removed but is still being accessed.nfs*# Log files created by default by the nohup commandnohup.out

Often used together

More template explanations