I frequently forget to add .gitignore files when creating new .gitignore files. I'd like to request a command-line option to always add .gitignore files (or, more generally, always add files that match a given file specification). Replicate 0. git init ... 1. echo "*.bak" >> .gitignore 2. touch file.txt 3. git add file.txt 4. git commit -a -m "..." 5. git push origin master Expected Results The .gitignore file is also added to the repository. (This is probably the 80% use case.) Actual Results The .gitignore file is not added to the repository. Additional Details At step 4, there should be a prompt, warning, or (preferably) either a command-line or configuration option to add the .gitignore file prior to commit, automatically. Such as: git commit --include-all-gitignore-files -a -m "..." Or: echo "**/.gitignore" >> .git/config/add-before-commit