Update Angular.gitignore
Reasons for making this change
This update modernizes the Angular .gitignore template to align with the latest Angular CLI defaults and community best practices. It removes obsolete patterns (like .angular-cli.json), adds critical ignores for modern Angular workflows (like Bazel builds and persistent cache directories), and incorporates standardized rules for IDE/editor files that Angular developers commonly use. Crucially, it stops ignoring lockfiles (package-lock.json/yarn.lock) since they should be committed for dependency reproducibility, and explicitly preserves team-configured VS Code settings while ignoring personal workspace data. These changes benefit all Angular projects by preventing accidental commits of build artifacts, sensitive caches, and machine-specific configuration files while maintaining team collaboration settings.
Links to documentation supporting these rule changes
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Angular CLI default ignores
The official Angular workspace schematic template includes:
/.angular/cache,/dist,/out-tsc,/coverage,/bazel-out, and lockfile handling guidance:
https://github.com/angular/angular-cli/blob/main/packages/schematics/angular/workspace/files/__dot__gitignore.template -
Bazel build artifacts
Angular's Bazel builder documentation specifies ignoring/bazel-*directories:
https://bazel.build/remote/output-directories -
VS Code configuration guidance
While not officially mandated by Angular, it's considered standard practice to commit essential VS Code configuration files (tasks.json,launch.json,extensions.json) to ensure consistent editor behavior across development teams. This aligns with general software development best practices for maintaining reproducible development environments and enforcing team coding standards. -
TypeScript build cache
tsbuildinfofiles are now covered implicitly by/distand/.angular/cacheper TypeScript's incremental build docs:
https://www.typescriptlang.org/tsconfig#tsBuildInfoFile -
Environment files
.envis intentionally not ignored here—Angular projects typically commit.env.examplebut ignore.envvia project-specific rules (per the 12-factor app methodology). This template avoids overreach since environment strategies vary:
https://angular.io/guide/build#configure-environment-specific-defaults
Merge and Approval Steps
- [x] Confirm that you've read the contribution guidelines and ensured your PR aligns
- [ ] Ensure CI is passing
- [ ] Get a review and Approval from one of the maintainers