Mac: Delete local git tracking file from terminal

Date: 2016-03-18 |

**Problem: **I just downloaded a seed/boilerplate repo from GitHub, but now I have the history of that entire repo inside my own project. How do I delete the local .git folder in my project directory so that I can essentially begin anew?

Solution:

  • Open up your terminal
  • Navigate to your project folder
  • Input “ls -a” to ensure your .git file is in that directory (take it as a sanity check). The -a modifier at the end of ls allows us to see hidden files.
  • If you’re sure you want to completely trash the current git tracking, type - rm -rf .git
  • This should delete the .git folder and all of its contents
  • To ensure your operation worked correctly: - “ls -a” again to see if the .git folder is still there
  • “git status” – if it returns an error that says “fatal: NOt a git repository (or any of the parent directories): .git” then you’ve successfully deleted the git tracking for the project. Note: this assumes that your project isn’t nested inside another directory that has git tracking enabled.

Enjoy your clean slate.

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