When you want to add the GIT source control for your WordPress based website this is always the first question that comes into the mind – what to include in .gitignore file? Here’s a golden recipe:
A WordPress configuration file and its template file
Including these in a .gitignore file is a mandatory thing since these files contain access data (database server login information, salt keys, etc). In general you should not store in a repository anything that contains access data or sensitive information because of potential leakage. Also not to mention that these files contain environment-specific information.
wp-config.php
wp-config-sample.phpApache / PHP server configuration files
These are also environment-specific files which should be stored directly on the server.
/.htaccess
.user.ini
php.iniError log files
Error log files contain nothing but information about errors the site is experiencing and they TEND to grow in size.
*.log
error_logDynamic files and directories
These are all files and directories where we expect the content to chage. This includes cache files and directories, language file directory, upgrade directory, uploads directory, plugin data files and directories (e.g. EWWW Image Optimizer and WP CloudFlare Super Page Cache, Query Monitor link, Autoptimize 404 handler file, etc) and the list is not even complete (could change because of different setup of plugins). Essentially the first 5 should always be included.
/wp-content/cache/
/wp-content/*-cache.php
/wp-content/languages/
/wp-content/uploads/
/wp-content/upgrade/
/wp-content/ewww/
/wp-content/db.php
/wp-content/autoptimize_404_handler.php
/wp-content/wp-cloudflare-super-page-cache/Filesystem leftover files
Often automatically generated by either Macintosh or Windows operating systems. These are filesystem files which are not related to your project in any way and should not be included since they can also contain a sensitive information.
.DS_Store
Thumbs.dbSummary
So now that we’ve reviewed every part of what to include, here’s a complete copy of the recommended .gitignore file for WordPress based websites:
#WordPress configuration file and its template file
wp-config.php
wp-config-sample.php
#Apache / PHP server configuration files
/.htaccess
.user.ini
php.ini
#Error log files
*.log
error_log
#Dynamic files and directories
/wp-content/cache/
/wp-content/*-cache.php
/wp-content/languages/
/wp-content/uploads/
/wp-content/upgrade/
/wp-content/ewww/
/wp-content/db.php
/wp-content/autoptimize_404_handler.php
/wp-content/wp-cloudflare-super-page-cache/
#Filesystem leftover files
.DS_Store
Thumbs.db