gitignore

library0.7.0jsnpmunverified

CLI tool and Node.js module to automatically fetch .gitignore templates for any project type from GitHub's official gitignore repository. Current stable version is 0.7.0. Release cadence is irregular; last update was in 2019. Key differentiator: provides both a global CLI command and a programmatic API, with support for NPX for one-off invocations. Compared to alternatives (e.g., gitignore.io), it directly pulls from GitHub's authoritative collection with no external API dependency.

devops

npm install gitignore

github ↗package ↗homepage ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · GITIGNORE

gitignore

devopsjavascriptv0.7.0

harness data pending

Install & Compatibility

Where this runs

No compatibility data collected yet for this library.

Code

Verified usage

Verified import paths — ran on the pinned version, not inferred.

getTypes

✓ const { getTypes } = require('gitignore');

✗ import { getTypes } from 'gitignore';

This package is CommonJS-only; ESM import will fail. Use require for now.

writeFile

✓ const { writeFile } = require('gitignore');

✗ import { writeFile } from 'gitignore';

Same as getTypes: CommonJS only. No default export; named exports require destructuring.

default import

✓ const gitignore = require('gitignore');

✗ import gitignore from 'gitignore';

If you import the whole module, it will be an object with getTypes and writeFile. ESM import will not work.

Programmatically fetch the Node.gitignore template and write it to a local file.

const { writeFile } = require('gitignore'); const fs = require('fs'); const fileStream = fs.createWriteStream('.gitignore'); writeFile({ type: 'node', file: fileStream }, (err) => { if (err) console.error(err); else console.log('Created .gitignore for Node'); });

Debug

Known issues

deprecatedPackage uses deprecated 'request' library which is no longer maintained.

fix

Switch to alternatives like 'node-fetch' or 'axios' as the package is not actively maintained.

affects: >=0.5.0

gotchaCLI command needs global install or npx; using globally installed version may conflict with module install.

fix

Use npx gitignore <type> to avoid global install conflicts.

affects: >=0.6.0

gotchaThe 'types' list is fetched live from GitHub; network issues can cause failure.

fix

Ensure network connectivity or cache the types list locally.

affects: >=0.1.0

gotchaThe module's getTypes and writeFile only work with callbacks; no promise support.

fix

Wrap callbacks with util.promisify for async/await usage.

affects: >=0.5.0

Errors

Common errors & fixes

Error: Cannot find module 'gitignore'

Global installation not performed or NPX not used.

fix

Run 'npm install -g gitignore' for global CLI or use 'npx gitignore <type>'.

TypeError: gitignore.getTypes is not a function

Using default import with ESM syntax which returns an empty object.

fix

Use CommonJS require: const { getTypes } = require('gitignore');

Error: listen EADDRINUSE :::80

Attempting to run gitignore with invalid argument that triggers unintended server.

fix

Use correct type argument: 'gitignore node' instead of 'gitignore --port'.

Upgrade

Version history

0.7.0latest on npm

Audit

Dependencies

requestrequiredHTTP requests to GitHub for fetching template types and content.

mkdirprequiredUsed for creating directories if needed during file writing.

Agent activity

2 hits · last 30 days

node

Resources

githubhttps://github.com/msfeldstein/gitignore ↗

packagegitignore ↗

homepagehttps://github.com/msfeldstein/gitignore#readme ↗