git: Remove Untracked Files

By  on  

I've always said that I know just enough about git to get the job done, but also do something destructive. Nothing embodies that more than my recent mistake. I somehow found a git repository full of untracked files and git stash wouldn't fix it. Desperation led me to learning how to remove all untracked files, the same way hg purge does for mercurial.

To remove untracked files and directories, you can execute:

# Remove untracked directories
git clean -fd

# Remove only untracked files
git clean -fX

There you have it -- you've removed your untracked files. The dangerous side? It will also delete files hidden by .gitignore when you run a git status. Be careful when removing untracked files!

Recent Features

Incredible Demos

  • By
    Create a Sexy Persistent Header with Opacity Using MooTools or jQuery

    I've been working with the Magento eCommerce solution a lot lately and I've taken a liking to a technique they use with the top bar within their administrative control panel. When the user scrolls below a specified threshold, the top bar becomes attached to the...

  • By
    Image Reflection with jQuery and MooTools

    One subtle detail that can make a big difference on any web design is the use of image reflections. Using them too often can become obnoxious but using reflections on large, "masthead" images is a classy enhancement. Unfortunately creating image reflections within your...

Discussion

    Wrap your code in <pre class="{language}"></pre> tags, link to a GitHub gist, JSFiddle fiddle, or CodePen pen to embed!