Untracked vs tracked files in Git - Visual Side-by-Side Comparison

Process Flow - Untracked vs tracked files

Create new file

↓

File is untracked

↓

Run git add

↓

File becomes tracked (staged)

↓

Run git commit

↓

File is tracked (committed)

This flow shows how a new file starts as untracked, then becomes tracked after adding and committing.

Execution Sample

Git

echo "Hello" > file.txt
git status
git add file.txt
git status
git commit -m "Add file.txt"
git status

This sequence creates a file, checks status (untracked), adds it, commits it, and checks status again.

Process Table

Step	Command	Git Status Output Summary	File State
1	echo "Hello" > file.txt	No git output; file created in folder	file.txt created, untracked
2	git status	Shows: untracked files: file.txt	file.txt is untracked
3	git add file.txt	No output; file staged	file.txt staged (tracked)
4	git status	Shows: changes to be committed: new file: file.txt	file.txt staged (tracked)
5	git commit -m "Add file.txt"	[master (root-commit) abc1234] Add file.txt 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+) create mode 100644 file.txt	file.txt committed (tracked)
6	git status	Shows: nothing to commit, working tree clean	file.txt tracked and committed

💡 After commit, file is tracked and no changes pending.

Status Tracker

File State	Start	After Step 2	After Step 3	After Step 5	Final
file.txt	Does not exist	Untracked	Staged (tracked)	Committed (tracked)	Committed (tracked)

Key Moments - 3 Insights

Why does the file show as untracked before running git add?

Because the file is new and git does not track it until you explicitly add it, as shown in execution_table step 2.

What changes the file from untracked to tracked?

Running git add stages the file, changing its state to tracked, as seen in execution_table step 3.

Why does git status show nothing to commit after the commit?

Because the file is now committed and there are no new changes, as shown in execution_table step 6.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution table, what is the file state after running 'git add file.txt'?

A Untracked

B Committed

C Staged (tracked)

D Deleted

💡 Hint

Check the 'File State' column at step 3 in the execution_table.

At which step does the file become committed?

A Step 5

B Step 2

C Step 3

D Step 6

💡 Hint

Look for the commit command and output in the execution_table.

If you create a new file but never run git add, what will git status show?

A File is committed

B File is untracked

C File is staged

D File is deleted

💡 Hint

Refer to the file state at step 2 in the execution_table.

Concept Snapshot

Untracked files are new files git does not track yet.
Run 'git add <file>' to stage and track them.
Run 'git commit' to save changes permanently.
'git status' shows file states: untracked, staged, committed.
Files stay untracked until added.

Full Transcript

When you create a new file in a git folder, it starts as untracked. This means git knows the file exists but does not track changes to it yet. Running 'git status' shows untracked files. To track the file, you run 'git add <filename>', which stages the file. Staged files are tracked and ready to be committed. After running 'git commit', the file is saved in the git history and is fully tracked. Running 'git status' after commit shows a clean working tree with no changes. This flow helps you understand how files move from untracked to tracked in git.