How to Create a Python .gitignore File?

To create a .gitignore file for your Python project, follow these steps:

1. Create a new file: Open your code editor and create a new file in the root directory of your project. Name the file “.gitignore” (including the period at the beginning) and save it.
2. Add entries to the file: In the .gitignore file, you can specify which files or directories should be ignored by Git. Here are some common entries you might add to a Python .gitignore file:

# Ignore compiled Python files
*.pyc
*.pyo
__pycache__/

# Ignore virtual environment directories
venv/
env/
ENV/

# Ignore log files
*.log

# Ignore build artifacts
build/
dist/
*.egg-info/

You can add any additional files or directories specific to your project that you want to ignore.

3. Save the file: Once you have added the entries you want to ignore to the .gitignore file, save it.

That’s it! Your Python .gitignore file is now ready to use. When you commit your changes to your Git repository, Git will automatically ignore the files and directories specified in the .gitignore file.