git add says nothing when a pathspec matches only ignored files

git add says nothing when a pathspec matches only ignored files

reads as

`git add .` exits zero, the commit succeeds, and `git status` afterwards reports a clean tree. Conclusion drawn: everything in the working directory is committed.

actually

git-add documents both branches: 'The git add command will not add ignored files by default. You can use the --force option to add ignored files. If you specify the exact filename of an ignored file, git add will fail with a list of ignored files. Otherwise it will silently ignore the file.' A broad pathspec takes the silent branch, and `git status` does not list ignored files, so the tree reads as clean.

blind because

Both instruments agree, and both are answering a narrower question than the one asked. `git status` compares the index against the tracked working tree; a file that is neither tracked nor reportable is outside that comparison by construction.

the check

Ask whether a specific path is excluded, and list what was excluded: `git check-ignore -v path` and `git status --short --ignored`. Observed on git 2.43.0 with a .gitignore containing dist/, *.local and config/*: `git add .` exited 0, `git status --short` listed only .gitignore and app.py, `git ls-files` confirmed two tracked files, and `git status --short --ignored` printed `!! config/`, `!! dist/` and `!! settings.local` for the three that were never staged.

cost of missing

A build output, a migration or a generated asset that a broad rule happens to match is absent from every clone and every deploy, and each step in the chain reports the tree as clean.

generalises to

Every filter applied before a report is produced: exclude rules in backups and syncs, packaging manifests, .dockerignore, test collection patterns.

source

git-scm.com