All commands

git clean

intermediate

Delete untracked, unignored files from your working tree.

git clean
Where this fits in the command map

What it does

git clean removes files that Git has never tracked and that .gitignore does not protect: build artifacts, stray logs, unneeded temp files. Because deletion is permanent, every sane workflow pairs git clean with a dry-run first (-n).

~/project · git status
On branch main
Your branch is ahead of 'origin/main' by 2 commits.
Changes to be committed:
modified: src/button.tsx ✚
Changes not staged for commit:
modified: src/theme.css ✏
Untracked files:
notes.md

git clean finds and permanently deletes untracked files

Watch it — press play

A narrated, step-by-step walkthrough that shows how to do it — not just theory. It adapts to the learner mode you picked in the top bar.

1 / 2

Step 1

Stray files everywhere

Untracked files and build junk litter your worktree. First, preview what clean would remove.

git clean -n
~/project · git status
On branch main
Your branch is ahead of 'origin/main' by 2 commits.
Changes to be committed:
modified: src/button.tsx ✚
Changes not staged for commit:
modified: src/theme.css ✏
Untracked files:
notes.md

??? = untracked · clean only touches these

Under the hood

1

It walks the worktree, not the repo

Clean scans the working tree for paths with no index entry, then removes them. It writes the *deletion* as real file removal — there is no undo, no reflog, no staging. That's why -n (dry run) is the reflex.

2

-f is a guard, -d descends into dirs, -x adds ignored

By default clean won't touch directories (needs -d) and never touches ignored files (-n/-f only shown unignored). -x widens it to INCLUDING ignored files — the true remove-everything button.

3

Clean + reset = the nuclear combo

`git reset --hard` handles tracked changes; `git clean -fdx` handles everything untracked. Together they produce a pristine worktree — a real project-whisperer move before a fresh branch.

Command anatomy

git clean -fd
-n

Dry run: list what would be deleted, delete nothing.

-d

Remove untracked directories as well as files.

-x

Also remove ignored files (the full nuclear option).

-f

Actually do the deleting.

When to reach for it

Clearing out build artifacts and node_modules before zipping a folder.

You deleted a file but git status still shows it? clean -f nukes the leftover copies from ignored dirs.

The pristine-worktree reset combo before starting fresh work.

Practice

A real repo, pre-seeded with history, runs right here — stage, commit, branch, stash, diff, even hit and resolve a real merge conflict. Nothing to install, nothing leaves your machine.

Open practice playground

Go deeper with

git restore

Undo changes in your working tree or index — surgically.

git reset

Move the branch pointer and undo your staging decisions.

git status

Compare the working tree, the index, and the last commit.