Recurring Git conflicts in .mendix-cache despite .gitignore entry

Issue

When working on a Mendix project with multiple team members, the .mendix-cache directory causes recurring Git conflicts. This problem persists even when the .mendix-cache directory is explicitly excluded in the .gitignore file.

Environment

Version Control

Cause

This issue occurs when the .mendix-cache directory was already tracked by Git before it was added to the .gitignore file. Once files are committed to a Git repository, adding them to .gitignore does not remove them from version control. The files remain tracked, causing conflicts even though they should be ignored. The .gitignore file only prevents untracked files from being added to the repository, not files that are already being tracked.

Solution/Workaround

To permanently resolve this issue, the .mendix-cache directory needs to be removed from the Git repository while remaining on the local disk, which will result in a delete that needs to be committed. Follow these steps:

1. Run the following command to remove the .mendix-cache directory from version control while keeping it on the local disk: 

   git rm --cached -r .mendix-cache

2. Verify that the .mendix-cache folder is still present on disk after running the command.
3. Commit the deletion to the repository. This commits the removal from Git's tracking registry, not from the local disk.

After committing, the .gitignore file will work as designed, and the .mendix-cache directory will no longer cause conflicts.

Additional information

Not applicable