How to Remove a File from Git but Keep It Locally

Use git rm --cached <filename> to remove a file from Git tracking but keep it on your local disk. This command stops Git from tracking the file without deleting it locally.

Syntax

The command to remove a file from Git tracking but keep it locally is:

• git rm --cached <filename>: Removes the file from Git's index (staging area) but leaves the file on your local disk.
• git commit -m "message": Commits the change to stop tracking the file.

bash

git rm --cached <filename>
git commit -m "Stop tracking <filename>"

Example

This example shows how to stop tracking a file named secret.txt but keep it on your computer.

bash

git rm --cached secret.txt
git commit -m "Remove secret.txt from Git tracking"

Output

[master 1a2b3c4] Remove secret.txt from Git tracking
 1 file changed, 0 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-)
 delete mode 100644 secret.txt

Common Pitfalls

Common mistakes when removing files from Git but keeping them locally:

• Using git rm <filename> without --cached deletes the file from both Git and your local disk.
• Not committing after git rm --cached means the change is not saved in Git history.
• Forgetting to add the file to .gitignore if you want Git to ignore it in the future.

bash

Wrong way (deletes file locally):
git rm secret.txt

Right way (keeps file locally):
git rm --cached secret.txt

Quick Reference

Summary tips for removing a file from Git but keeping it locally:

• Use git rm --cached <filename> to untrack the file.
• Commit the change to update Git history.
• Add the file to .gitignore to prevent future tracking.

Key Takeaways

Use git rm --cached <filename> to stop tracking a file but keep it locally.

Always commit after removing a file from Git tracking to save the change.

Add files to .gitignore to prevent Git from tracking them again.

Avoid using git rm <filename> without --cached if you want to keep the file locally.