How to Remove Git Cached Files After Adding to .gitignore

Published on: July 8th 2025

git

The following bash script can help you removing your cached files on git if you add your file into .gitignore and GIT is already tracking them.

        
        
          
            
          
          
            
          
        

        #!/bin/bash
 
git ls-files -i --exclude-standard | while IFS= read -r file; do
    echo "Removing cached file: $file"
    git rm --cached "$file"
done
    IFS=$OLD_IFS
  fi
done

Let's breakdown this bash commands:

Step 1: git ls-files

  • This command lists files in the git repository
  • By default, it shows all files that are currently tracked (in the git index)

Step 2: The -i flag

  • -i stands for "ignored"
  • This modifies the behavior to show files that would be ignored by git's ignore rules
  • However, it only shows ignored files that are currently tracked

Step 3: The --exclude-standard flag

  • This tells git to use the standard ignore sources:
    • .gitignore files (in current and parent directories)
    • .git/info/exclude file (repository-specific ignores)
    • Global gitignore file (configured in core.excludesFile)

Step 4: What the combination does

git ls-files -i --exclude-standard finds files that are:

  1. Currently tracked by git (in the index/cache)
  2. Would be ignored if they weren't already tracked
  3. Match patterns in any of the standard ignore sources

Step 5: The pipeline

        
        
          
            
          
          
            
          
        

        | while IFS= read -r file; do
  • Takes each filename from the previous command
  • IFS= prevents word splitting on spaces in filenames
  • read -r prevents backslash interpretation

Step 6: The removal

        
        
          
            
          
          
            
          
        

        echo "Removing cached file: $file"
git rm --cached "$file"
  • Shows which file is being removed
  • git rm --cached removes the file from git's index but keeps it in the working directory

When to use this?

Let's say you have:

  • A tracked file: logs/debug.log
  • You later add to .gitignore: logs/*.log

What happens:

  1. git ls-files -i --exclude-standard finds logs/debug.log because:
    • It's currently tracked
    • It matches the new ignore pattern logs/*.log
  2. The script removes logs/debug.log from git's cache
  3. The file stays in your working directory but is now ignored by git

This is the typical "oops, I forgot to ignore this before committing it" cleanup scenario.

Creating a bash script

So, create a .sh file on your folder and copy the content above.

        
        
          
            
          
          
            
          
        

        vi remove_cached.sh

Save your file and add x permission:

        
        
          
            
          
          
            
          
        

        chmod +x remove_cached.sh

Then run your script:

        
        
          
            
          
          
            
          
        

        ./remove_cached.sh

After run this script you shouldn’t see files you want to ignore under your .gitignore. You can delete the .sh file afterwards.

Source: shell script, How to run a script on mac