Sweep the
Kitchen Clean
Your workspace is cluttered with files Git doesn't track — build artifacts, temp files, experiments. git clean removes all untracked files in one sweep.
The messy kitchen
Your project has tracked files (Git knows about them)
and untracked junk (Git doesn't know, doesn't care).
git clean -n = dry run (preview what dies)
git clean -f = force delete (actually sweep)
git clean -fd = files + directories
⚠️ This is destructive! Always dry-run first.
🎉 Kitchen is clean
All untracked junk is gone. Only your tracked, committed files remain.
Clean workspace = clear mind.
Remember: always dry-run first with -n
to avoid accidentally deleting something important.
Always dry-run first.
-f means no going back.
Pair git clean with git checkout -- . to reset everything back to the last commit state.