Git: Untrack A File Without Deleting It

Generally when I invoke git rm <filename>, I do so with the intention of removing a file from the project entirely. git-rm does exactly that, removing the file both from the index and from the working tree.

If you want to untrack a file (remove it from the index), but still have it available locally (in the working tree), then you are going to want to use the --cached flag.

git rm --cached <filename>

If you do this, you may also consider adding that file to the .gitignore file.

The same can be done for a directory of files that you don’t want tracked. Just use the -r flag:

git rm --cached -r <directory>

Via jbranchaud/til.