Sometimes you commit a file to Git that you no longer want to track—whether it’s an outdated script, a sensitive file added by mistake, or just unnecessary clutter. Fortunately, Git makes it easy to remove files from both the repository history and your local working directory (or just from tracking).
This guide covers several ways to remove files from Git depending on your use case.
✅ Option 1: Remove a File from Git and Local Disk
If you want to delete the file from both Git and your computer:
git rm filename.txt
git commit -m "Remove filename.txt"
git push origin branch-name
What it does:
- Deletes
filename.txtfrom your local disk - Stages the removal for commit
- Removes it from the repository after push
✅ Option 2: Remove a File from Git, Keep Locally
If you want Git to stop tracking the file but keep it locally:
git rm --cached filename.txt
git commit -m "Stop tracking filename.txt"
git push origin branch-name
When to use:
- Removing sensitive or temporary files (e.g.,
.env, logs) - Adding files to
.gitignoreafter they’ve already been committed
👉 After this, you should add the file to your .gitignore so it doesn’t get accidentally re-added:
echo filename.txt >> .gitignore
🔁 Option 3: Remove a Folder from Git
You can also remove entire folders using:
git rm -r folder-name
git commit -m "Remove folder-name"
git push origin branch-name
Add --cached if you want to keep the folder locally but untrack it from Git.
🧼 Option 4: Remove File from Git History (Advanced)
If you’ve committed a sensitive file (e.g., a password or API key) and need to remove it from Git history, use BFG Repo-Cleaner or:
git filter-branch --force --index-filter \
"git rm --cached --ignore-unmatch filename.txt" \
--prune-empty --tag-name-filter cat -- --all
⚠️ This rewrites history. Be careful and avoid this on shared/public branches unless necessary.
📝 Summary
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
| Remove file completely | git rm filename.txt |
| Untrack file but keep locally | git rm --cached filename.txt |
| Remove folder | git rm -r folder-name |
| Remove from history (advanced) | git filter-branch or BFG Repo-Cleaner |
Removing files in Git isn’t just about deletion—it’s about control. Whether you’re cleaning up your repo, updating tracked files, or protecting sensitive data, the right removal method ensures a clean and secure project history.
