---
title: Gitignore
intro: >-
  Use the REST API to get `.gitignore` templates that can be used to ignore
  files and directories.
versions: # DO NOT MANUALLY EDIT. CHANGES WILL BE OVERWRITTEN BY A 🤖
  fpt: '*'
  ghae: '*'
  ghec: '*'
  ghes: '*'
topics:
  - API
redirect_from:
  - /rest/reference/gitignore
autogenerated: rest
---

## About gitignore

When you create a new repository on {% ifversion ghae %}{% data variables.product.product_name %}{% else %}{% data variables.location.product_location %}{% endif %} via the API, you can specify a [.gitignore template](/get-started/getting-started-with-git/ignoring-files) to apply to the repository upon creation. You can use the REST API to get .gitignore templates from the {% data variables.product.product_name %} [.gitignore repository](https://github.com/github/gitignore).

You can use the `application/vnd.github.raw` custom media type when getting a gitignore template. For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/rest/overview/media-types)."

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