not sure why i never noticed this before, but the "-x" option for "git clean" reads: -x Donʼt use the standard ignore rules read from .gitignore (per directory) and $GIT_DIR/info/exclude, but do still use the ignore rules given with -e options. This allows removing all untracked files, including build products. This can be used (possibly in conjunction with git reset) to create a pristine working directory to test a clean build. but i see no mention of whether the file specified by core.excludesFile is taken into account, and perusing the source code doesn't seem to show that command checking that config option. am i misreading something? and if not, is there a reason git clean does not consult core.excludesFile? rday -- ======================================================================== Robert P. J. Day Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA http://crashcourse.ca/dokuwiki Twitter: http://twitter.com/rpjday LinkedIn: http://ca.linkedin.com/in/rpjday ========================================================================