While learning Git as part of my DevOps preparation, I realized that understanding file removal in Git is more than just deleting files using rm.
So I practiced the git rm command in the terminal to clearly understand how Git handles tracked and untracked files.

This blog shares what I practiced and what I learned.

I started with a clean Git repository containing three tracked files:

git status
git ls-files
ls

Output showed:

• file1, file2, and file3 were tracked by Git

• All three files existed in the working directory

Removing a File Only from Git Tracking

I first used the following command:

git rm --cached file1

What happened:

• file1 was removed from Git tracking

• The file still existed in the local directory

Verification:

git ls-files
ls

This helped me understand that git rm --cached is useful when we want Git to stop tracking a file without deleting it locally (for example, config files or secrets).

Removing a File Completely

Next, I used:

git rm file2

Result:

• file2 was removed from Git

• file2 was deleted from the working directory

Verification:

git ls-files
ls

Only file3 remained tracked and present locally.

Key Learnings

• git rm --cached removes a file only from Git tracking

• git rm removes a file from Git tracking and deletes it locally

• Git commands work only on tracked files

• git ls-files is useful to verify which files Git is tracking

Why This Matters in Real Projects

In real-world projects, git rm --cached is commonly used to:

• Remove accidentally committed files

• Stop tracking configuration or secret files

• Prepare files to be added to .gitignore

Understanding this prevents accidental data loss.

✅ Conclusion

Practicing Git commands directly in the terminal helped me understand concepts much better than reading documentation alone.
This hands-on approach is helping me build strong Git fundamentals as I prepare for a DevOps role.

Next, I plan to practice .gitignore and Git branching.

🏷️ Recommended Hashnode Tags

#git #devops #learning #linux #beginners