Easy Trick to Create a dotfile in Windows
Posted: 11/17/2023 2:49:13 PM
By: PrintableKanjiEmblem
Times Read: 1,672
0 Dislikes: 0
Topic: Windows

It's always been a bit of a pain in Windows to create a dotfile (Like .gitignore, .dockerfile, etc) but I just learned this weird trick that makes it easier:

  • In File Explorer, go to the directory where you want to create the file
  • Right-click and pick New, then Text Document
  • For the name (Say we want to create a .gitignore file), wipe out everything suggested for the filename, including the .txt extension, then give it a name of ".gitignore." (With a dot on BOTH sides of the filename)
  • Hit Enter
  • You'll get the warning about changing file extensions, click Yes (Or just hit Enter as that's the default)
  • Windows will strip the trailing dot, giving you a fresh empty file named .gitignore !!
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