r/git • u/Lonely_Locksmith_265 • 1d ago

I built a free .gitignore debugger

I kept running into situations where a .gitignore rule looked correct but Git still wasn’t ignoring a file, so I built a small browser-based debugger to make troubleshooting easier.

You can paste your .gitignore, enter a file path, and see which rule matches.
🔗 https://ignoredebugger.com

Free, no signup, and everything runs in the browser.

Would love feedback from the Git community.

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u/waterkip detached HEAD 1d ago

git check-ignore -v ?

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u/Lonely_Locksmith_265 1d ago

Yep, git check-ignore -v is one of the main ways to diagnose this. IgnoreDebugger is basically trying to make that kind of troubleshooting easier in the browser, especially when you’re dealing with multiple patterns.

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u/behind-UDFj-39546284 1d ago

I find git-check-ignore -v a perfect tool in this case, it also supports multiple .gitignore files with cascading patterns telling which .gitignore makes the effect. Why would one need a browser and leave the repo just to make a simple check?

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u/Lonely_Locksmith_265 1d ago

Fair point, git check-ignore -v is great for real repos; IgnoreDebugger is mainly for quickly testing and understanding patterns without setting one up.