Last Updated on January 26, 2024 by Vikash Ekka
Git helps keep track of changes in your code, and the .gitignore file is like a rulebook, telling Git what to ignore. But when you want to know who made changes to this important file, things might seem a bit puzzling. This article is here to make it all clear and guide you in finding the people behind modifications to your .gitignore file.
Use Git Blame:
You can use the git blame command to see who last modified each line of a file, including the .gitignore file. Open a terminal or command prompt and navigate to the repository’s root directory. Then, run the following command:
git blame .gitignoreThis will show you each line in the .gitignore file along with the commit hash, author, date, and the content of the line.
jenkins@ip-10-1-23-78:/tmp/vetechnorepo$ git blame .gitignore
3cd824fc30 (vetechno 2023-08-25 10:46:17 +0530 1) ## Ignore Visual Studio temporary files, build results, and
3cd824fc30 (vetechno 2023-08-25 10:46:17 +0530 2) ## files generated by popular Visual Studio add-ons.
3cd824fc30 (vetechno 2023-08-25 10:46:17 +0530 3) ##
3cd824fc30 (vetechno 2023-08-25 10:46:17 +0530 4) ## Get latest from https://github.com/github/gitignore/blob/master/VisualStudio.gitignore
3cd824fc30 (vetechno 2023-08-25 10:46:17 +0530 5)
3cd824fc30 (vetechno 2023-08-25 10:46:17 +0530 6) # User-specific files
3cd824fc30 (vetechno 2023-08-25 10:46:17 +0530 7) *.rsuser
3cd824fc30 (vetechno 2023-08-25 10:46:17 +0530 8) *.suo
3cd824fc30 (vetechno 2023-08-25 10:46:17 +0530 9) *.user
3cd824fc30 (vetechno 2023-08-25 10:46:17 +0530 10) *.userosscache
3cd824fc30 (vetechno 2023-08-25 10:46:17 +0530 11) *.sln.docstates
Check Git Log:
Alternatively, you can check the commit history of the .gitignore file using the git log command:
git log -- .gitignoreThis will show you a list of commits related to the .gitignore file, including the author, date, and commit message.
Use a Git GUI:
If you prefer a graphical interface, you can use a Git GUI tool like SourceTree, GitKraken, or GitHub Desktop. These tools often provide a visual representation of the commit history, making it easy to see who made changes to the .gitignore file.
Remember that if multiple people are working on the repository, it’s crucial to communicate with your team to understand the reasons behind changes to the .gitignore file. Additionally, modifying the .gitignore file is a common task during development, so changes may be made by different team members for legitimate reasons.