How to stop tracking a file in Git?

2 min readJun 10, 2022

When working on a Git repository, a developer may want to stop tracking the changes of a file. Luckily this is very easy to do in Git.

To stop tracking a file in Git and KEEP it in the repo, use:

git rm file.txt --cached

To stop tracking a file in Git and REMOVE it from the repo, use:

git rm file.txt

This article will explore different scenarios when stopping the tracking of a file in Git and answer common questions.

Let’s get to it.

How to stop tracking a file without deleting it?

You need to use the git rm command with the cached option to stop tracking a file without deleting it.

The cached option removes the file from the index but keeps it in the working directory.

Here is the process to follow:

git rm file.txt --cached

2. Use the git status command to verify the changes.

3. Commit your changes.

git commit -m 'Removed the file'

4. Push your changes to the remote.

Note: You can remove a folder using the recursive option with git rm -r.

Using the git rm command, you can stop tracking a file without keeping it inside the repo.

Here is the process to follow:

git rm file.txt

2. Commit and push your changes to finalize the removal.

Sometimes, a developer may want to keep the file in the Git repository but stop tracking its changes.

That is where the git update-index command with the skip-worktree option comes into play.

The skip-worktree option tells Git to pretend that the file is always up-to-date, so the changes are not tracked.

Here is the process to follow:

git update-index --skip-worktree file.txt

The tracking is now off on the file called file.txt.

As you can see, it is easy to stop tracking the changes of a file in Git.

For a new file, however, include it in the .gitignore file (if you want Git not to track it).

Here are some other Git tutorials for you to enjoy: