CODEWITHSUNDEEP
gitgithubcmder
peterxgriffin
peterxgriffin

Reputation: 55

How can I make Git forget/remove a deleted file that has an invalid filename?

Screenshot

I'm not sure how, but a co-worker created a file with an invalid name (slash in file name, "MCHS \226 FH La Crosse.xlsx"). This file has been deleted now, but I can't seem to get git to forget about it. I'm still able to pull/push/commit but I've been staring at this message every time I sync my repos for the past year now, and today I decided I've had enough and I need it gone.

I tried to do a git rm but I got the error "did not match any files". I can't physically recreate a file with that filename, to complete the rm, because of the slash in the name...any suggestions?

Upvotes: 1

Views: 1431

Answers (2)

Arleigh Reyna
Arleigh Reyna

Reputation: 369

git rm -r --cached -- "path/to/directory"

git pull

git rm "path/to/directory"

git add "path/to/directory"

git push

git pull

Upvotes: 2

amacrobert
amacrobert

Reputation: 3139

git rm is to remove existing files from your index and/or working tree. It won't do anything for a file that has already been deleted. Instead, you probably have to commit the file deletion.

In the terminal, $ git status in your project. You should see something like

Changes not staged for commit:
  (use "git add/rm <file>..." to update what will be committed)
  (use "git checkout -- <file>..." to discard changes in working directory)

    deleted:    MCHS \226 FH La Crosse.xlsx

Add the file and commit it:

git add "MCHS \\226 FH La Crosse.xlsx"
git commit -m "remove deleted file from remote repo"

Finally, push to your remote repo.

Upvotes: 1

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