How to remove untracked files?

git clean -f

To remove untracked files from the working directory use git clean -f.

Since git clean removes files it's recommended to start with a dry-run using parameter -n. A dry-run will show what is going to be removed without actually removing them.

The -f parameter tells git to remove the files when git clean is used. The usage of parameter -f is required unless clean.requireForce is configured to false.

Git clean -f won't remove untracked directories. Add parameter -d to remove directories as well.

Layer 1
Terminal Example
git clean -n
Would remove new-file.txt
git clean -f
Removing new-file.txt

See git clean to learn more about it.

Last modified on November 30, 2021.

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