Want to exclude file from “git diff”

Question

I am trying to exclude a file (db/irrelevant.php) from a Git diff. I have tried putting a file in the db subdirectory called .gitattributes

Answer 1

Relative to the git root directory

git diff accepts an optional exclude

git diff -- ":(exclude)thingToExclude"

You might want to add some wild cards

git diff -- ":(exclude)*/thingToExclude/*"

Target specific file types

git diff -- ":(exclude)*/$1/*.png"

Or drop a little script for your dotfiles

Such as .bash_profile or .zshrc

gde() {
    # git diff exclude files or folders 
    # usage: 
    # gde fileOrFolderNameToExclude
    git diff -- ":(exclude)*/$1/*"
}