How to Globally Ignore files like .DS_Store in Git Repos

So, I got tired of adding .DS_Store to every git repo on my Mac. I was pretty sure there would be a better way to handle this on a global way on my Mac, so I don’t have to do this for every repo.

Here’s what I found: You can create a global .gitignore file, add .DS_Store to it, and have git ignore them in all my repositories at once.

1. Create a Global Git Ignore File

Open up your favorite Terminal app, and type the following -

git config --global core.excludesfile ~/.gitignore_global

This command tells Git where the global .gitignore file is located or creates it if it doesn’t exist.

2. Edit the Global Git Ignore File

Next, I had to edit this file to include the .DS\_Store pattern.

Open this global git ignore file in your favorite Text Editor (e.g., nano or vim)

nano ~/.gitignore_global

.DS_Store

By adding this line, I told Git to ignore .DS_Store files globally.

3. Apply the Changes

Finally, to apply the changesr run the same configuration command again:

git config --global core.excludesfile ~/.gitignore_global

And that’s it! No more manually adding .DS_Store to each individual repository’s .gitignore file. Now, my Mac ignores these files in all Git repositories.