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Git New Files

New files you create aren't automatically part of a Git repository -- they start out as untracked, and git status and git add are how you tell Git to start following and staging them.

In this page:

  1. Untracked Files and git status
  2. Adding a Single New File
  3. Adding Multiple New Files
  4. Adding All New Files with git add .
  5. Checking What Will Be Committed
Syntax
bash 
git status
git add new_file_name
git add file1 file2

Untracked Files and git status

A newly created file that Git has never been told about is called untracked -- running git status lists it separately from modified tracked files, under its own 'Untracked files' heading, so you can see exactly what exists on disk but isn't yet part of the repository's history.

Example: Untracked Files and git status

bash 
git status

Adding a Single New File

Running git add followed by a file path moves that single file from the untracked or modified state into the staging area, marking it to be included in the next commit without affecting any other files that are currently untracked or modified.

Example: Adding a Single New File

bash 
git add index.html

Adding Multiple New Files

Multiple file paths can be listed after git add in one command, separated by spaces, or matched with a shell wildcard like *.css, which stages every file matching the pattern at once instead of requiring a separate git add command for each file.

Example: Adding Multiple New Files

bash 
git add file1.txt file2.txt
git add *.css

Adding All New Files with git add .

git add . stages every new and modified file found in the current directory and all of its subdirectories, while git add -A goes further and stages the entire repository including deletions, regardless of which directory the command is run from.

Example: Adding All New Files with git add .

bash 
git add .
git add -A

Checking What Will Be Committed

Before committing, git status summarizes which files are staged and which are still untracked or modified, and git diff --cached shows the exact line-by-line content that has been staged, letting you confirm precisely what will be recorded in the next commit.

Example: Checking What Will Be Committed

bash 
git status
git diff --cached
Related Topics

Git init Command · Git Staging Environment · Git clone Command · Git status Command

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Common Mistakes
  1. Running git commit right after creating a file, when a new file is untracked and needs git add first.
  2. Using git add *.txt and expecting files in subfolders, when the shell pattern only matches the current directory unless quoted like git add '*.txt'.
  3. Adding a file that .gitignore already lists, so Git refuses with a message unless you use -f.
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