Git Clean: Remove Untracked Files and Directories

What Does git clean Do?

git clean removes untracked files — files that are not staged or committed — from your working directory. It is the companion to git checkout (which restores tracked files) and git reset (which unstages changes).

Important: Dry Run First

git clean is destructive — removed files are gone permanently (they were never tracked, so reflog cannot help). Always preview first:

# Preview what would be deleted
git clean -n

# Preview including directories
git clean -nd

Common Usage

# Remove untracked files
git clean -f

# Remove untracked files AND directories
git clean -fd

# Remove untracked AND ignored files (full reset)
git clean -fdx

# Remove only ignored files (clean build artifacts)
git clean -fdX

Flags Explained

Flag	Meaning
-f	Force (required unless configured otherwise)
-d	Include untracked directories
-n	Dry run — show what would be removed
-x	Include files matched by .gitignore
-X	Remove ONLY files matched by .gitignore
-i	Interactive mode
-e <pattern>	Exclude a pattern from cleaning

Interactive Mode

git clean -fdi

Interactive mode lets you selectively choose which files to remove.

Practical Recipes

# Clean everything except .env files
git clean -fd -e .env

# Full nuclear reset (tracked + untracked + ignored)
git checkout -- .
git clean -fdx

Safety Recommendations

Always run with -n (dry run) first. Consider adding a git alias:

git config --global alias.sweep "clean -fd"
git config --global alias.sweep-dry "clean -nd"

Git clean is essential for reproducible builds, CI environments, and returning to a pristine working state.