How to Remove a File from a Git Repository (with git rm)

The git rm command removes a file from the Git repository. Unlike simply deleting a file in your editor or file browser — which only removes it from the filesystem — git rm also stages the removal so it's included in your next commit.

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Remove a File from the Repository and Filesystem

To delete a file from both the Git repository and the disk:

$ git rm file1.txt

Stop Tracking a File Without Deleting It

Use --cached to remove a file from Git's tracking while keeping it on your filesystem. This is useful when you accidentally committed a file you now want to add to .gitignore:

$ git rm --cached file2.txt

Remove a Directory Recursively

Add -r to remove a folder and all its contents:

$ git rm -r old-directory/

Preview Before Removing

When removing multiple files with a glob pattern, use --dry-run (or -n) to see what would be deleted without actually doing it:

$ git rm css/* --dry-run
rm 'css/about.css'
rm 'css/general.css'