Keep Secrets Out
of the Cookbook
Not everything should be in your repository — passwords, build files, IDE junk. .gitignore tells Git what to pretend doesn't exist.
The dangerous files
Your project has files that should never be committed:
🔑 .env — your API keys and passwords
📦 node_modules/ — thousands of dependency files
🗑️ .DS_Store — macOS junk
⚙️ dist/ — built files that can be regenerated
Put their names in .gitignore
and Git will invisibly skip them forever.
🎉 Your secrets are safe
The ignored files will never show up in git status
or be included in commits. Your passwords stay local,
and your repo stays clean.
Pro tip: check out gitignore.io for ready-made templates
for Node, Python, Java, and more.
Keep your repo clean
and your secrets hidden.
Rule of thumb: if a file is generated, personal, or secret — it belongs in .gitignore, not in your repository.