Git Ignore Files and Check Ignore Quiz

Review

1. What does a `.gitignore` pattern primarily describe?

   A gitignore file specifies intentionally untracked files that Git should ignore.
2. A tracked `notes.log` exists before `*.log` is added to `.gitignore`. What happens to its tracking status?

   Ignore rules do not affect files already tracked by Git.
3. What happens to an ignored untracked `debug.log` on disk?

   Ignoring is an exclusion rule, not a filesystem deletion operation.
4. What does exit status 0 from `git check-ignore debug.log` indicate?

   Exit status 0 means one or more provided paths are ignored.
5. What does exit status 1 from `git check-ignore source.txt` indicate?

   Exit status 1 means none of the provided paths is ignored.
6. What does `git check-ignore --verbose debug.log` reveal?

   Verbose output identifies the matching exclude source and pattern details.
7. Why use `--non-matching` with `--verbose`?

   The option makes non-matches explicit in verbose diagnostic output.
8. What does `git check-ignore --no-index` do?

   `--no-index` changes the diagnostic lookup; it does not mutate the index.
9. Which statement correctly separates V421 from this lesson?

   The commands solve different problems: one changes tracking state in the index; the other defines exclusion patterns.
10. A new `trace.log` is unexpectedly absent from ordinary untracked output. Which command most directly identifies the matching ignore rule?

    Verbose check-ignore is the official diagnostic command for identifying the exclude pattern responsible.