Gitignore Gen

Generate .gitignore files for any project type using GitHub's 200+ official templates. Use when creating new projects, setting up repositories, needing to co...

Security Scan

The skill's code and instructions match its stated purpose (generating .gitignore files from GitHub templates); it needs network access to api.github.com and writes a small cache and output files, which is proportionate to the task.

Purpose & Capability

Name/description (gitignore generator using GitHub templates) align with the provided script and SKILL.md. The script fetches templates from GitHub, combines them, supports detection from local files, and writes a .gitignore — all consistent with the skill's stated functionality.

Instruction Scope

Runtime instructions direct the agent/user to run the included Python script. The script performs expected actions: network requests to api.github.com, reading the target directory for detection, and writing output (.gitignore or custom path) and a cache file under ~/.cache/gitignore-gen. These behaviors are within the scope of generating .gitignore files but do involve network and filesystem access (home dir cache, working-directory writes).

Install Mechanism

No install spec is present (instruction-only with an included script). No downloads or external installers are invoked by the skill itself, so nothing arbitrary is written to disk beyond running the provided script and its cache/output files.

Credentials

The skill declares no required environment variables or credentials. The script also does not read secret environment variables or require auth; it makes unauthenticated requests to the GitHub API (which is appropriate for public gitignore templates, though subject to rate limits).

Persistence & Privilege

The skill does not request permanent inclusion, does not modify other skills or system-wide agent settings, and only writes its own cache (~/.cache/gitignore-gen) and any .gitignore output specified by the user. This level of persistence is proportional to its function.

Assessment

This skill appears coherent and implements what it claims. Before installing/using it, note: (1) the script fetches templates from api.github.com (network access) and may be rate-limited by GitHub when unauthenticated; (2) it writes a cache file under ~/.cache/gitignore-gen and will create/overwrite the target .gitignore (use --force/--append carefully and verify output path); (3) the code has minor bugs/rough edges (e.g., a small timing check implementation quirk) but nothing indicating malicious intent; (4) review the script if you require strict offline operation or need authenticated GitHub access. If you are comfortable with these normal behaviors (network + file writes in your home/workdir), the skill is reasonable to install/use.

Gitignore Generator

Generate .gitignore files from GitHub's official template collection. Combine multiple templates, auto-detect project type, add custom rules.

Quick Start

# List all available templates
python3 scripts/gitignore_gen.py list

# Generate for a Python project
python3 scripts/gitignore_gen.py generate Python --force

# Combine multiple templates
python3 scripts/gitignore_gen.py generate Python Node JetBrains --force

# Auto-detect project type
python3 scripts/gitignore_gen.py detect /path/to/project

Commands

list

List all 200+ available templates. Filter with --filter:

python3 scripts/gitignore_gen.py list --filter java

generate

Create a .gitignore from one or more templates:

python3 scripts/gitignore_gen.py generate Python Node --stdout     # print to stdout
python3 scripts/gitignore_gen.py generate Rust -o /tmp/.gitignore  # custom output path
python3 scripts/gitignore_gen.py generate Go --append              # append to existing
python3 scripts/gitignore_gen.py generate Swift --extra '*.local' --extra 'secrets/'

detect

Auto-detect project type from files in a directory:

python3 scripts/gitignore_gen.py detect           # current directory
python3 scripts/gitignore_gen.py detect ~/myproj   # specific path

Detects: Node, Python, Ruby, Rust, Go, Java, PHP/Composer, Dart, Elixir, Swift, Terraform, Docker, JetBrains, VS Code, and more.

Flags

• --stdout — Print to stdout instead of writing a file
• --force — Overwrite existing .gitignore
• --append / -a — Append to existing .gitignore
• --output / -o — Custom output file path
• --extra / -e — Add custom ignore patterns (repeatable)
• --filter / -f — Filter template list by name