gitignore

Installation Guide

This comprehensive guide covers all supported installation methods for gitignore across different platforms and environments.

📋 System Requirements

Minimum Requirements

Component	Requirement	Notes
Operating System	Linux, macOS 10.12+, Windows 10+	Cross-platform C application
Processor	x86_64, ARM64	Native architecture support
Memory	256 MB RAM	Minimal runtime footprint
Storage	50 MB	Includes source, build artifacts
Network	Optional	Required for GitHub sync features

Build Requirements (Source Installation)

Component	Version	Purpose
GCC/Clang	4.8+ / 3.5+	C compiler
GNU Make	3.81+	Build system
libcurl	7.50+	HTTP client library
Git	2.0+	Version control (optional)

🚀 Quick Installation

Automated Script (Recommended)

The fastest way to install gitignore with zero configuration:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mahbubhs/gitignore/main/install.sh | bash

What this does:

• ✅ Downloads latest stable release
• ✅ Installs to /usr/local/bin (sudo required)
• ✅ Verifies installation integrity
• ✅ Sets up proper permissions
• ✅ Provides post-installation feedback

Exit codes:

• 0: Success
• 1: Download failed
• 2: Verification failed
• 3: Installation failed

Platform-Specific One-Liners

Linux (apt-based)

# Ubuntu, Debian, Pop!_OS, etc.
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y curl && \
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mahbubhs/gitignore/main/install.sh | bash

Linux (dnf-based)

# Fedora, RHEL, CentOS
sudo dnf install -y curl && \
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mahbubhs/gitignore/main/install.sh | bash

macOS

# Using curl (built-in)
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mahbubhs/gitignore/main/install.sh)"

Windows (PowerShell)

# Requires curl.exe in PATH
curl.exe -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mahbubhs/gitignore/main/install.sh | bash.exe

🔧 Custom Installation Paths

User Directory (No Root Required)

Install to your home directory without administrator privileges:

# Install to ~/.local/bin
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mahbubhs/gitignore/main/install.sh | bash -s ~/.local

# Add to PATH (add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc)
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

System-Wide Installation

# Install to /usr/local/bin (default)
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mahbubhs/gitignore/main/install.sh | sudo bash

# Install to custom system path
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mahbubhs/gitignore/main/install.sh | sudo bash -s /opt/bin

Environment Variable Method

# Set custom installation prefix
export PREFIX=/opt/gitignore
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mahbubhs/gitignore/main/install.sh | sudo bash

🏗️ Source Installation

Prerequisites Installation

Ubuntu/Debian

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y build-essential libcurl4-openssl-dev git

Fedora/RHEL/CentOS

sudo dnf install -y gcc make libcurl-devel git

Arch Linux

sudo pacman -S gcc make curl git

macOS

# Install Xcode Command Line Tools
xcode-select --install

# Install Homebrew (optional, for additional tools)
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

# Install dependencies
brew install curl git

Windows (MSYS2/MinGW)

pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-gcc mingw-w64-x86_64-curl mingw-w64-x86_64-make git

Build Process

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/mahbubhs/gitignore.git
   cd gitignore
   

2. Generate template database:

   make templates
   

   This creates src/templates.c from templates/*.gitignore files.

3. Compile the application:

   make
   

   This produces the gitignore binary.

4. Install (optional):

   sudo make install
   

5. Verify installation:

   ./gitignore --version
   ./gitignore --help
   

Build Customization

Debug Build

make CFLAGS="-g -O0 -Wall -Wextra" LDFLAGS="-g"

Optimized Build

make CFLAGS="-O3 -march=native -flto" LDFLAGS="-flto"

Cross-Compilation

# ARM64 cross-compilation
make CC=aarch64-linux-gnu-gcc

Custom Compiler

make CC=clang

📦 Package Manager Installation

Snap (Linux)

sudo snap install gitignore --edge
sudo snap connect gitignore:home  # Optional: access home directory

Homebrew (macOS/Linux)

brew tap mahbubhs/gitignore
brew install gitignore

Note: Homebrew formula pending official publication.

Docker

# Pull and run
docker run --rm -v $(pwd):/workspace ghcr.io/mahbubhs/gitignore:latest --help

# Build locally
docker build -t gitignore .

Nix (Linux/macOS)

# shell.nix
{ pkgs ? import <nixpkgs> {} }:
pkgs.mkShell {
  buildInputs = with pkgs; [
    (import (fetchTarball "https://github.com/mahbubhs/gitignore/archive/main.tar.gz") {})
  ];
}

🔍 Post-Installation Verification

Basic Verification

# Check installation
which gitignore
gitignore --version

# Test core functionality
gitignore --help
gitignore list

Comprehensive Testing

# Create test environment
mkdir /tmp/gitignore-test && cd /tmp/gitignore-test

# Test template initialization
gitignore init python
cat .gitignore

# Test auto-detection (create package.json first)
echo '{}' > package.json
gitignore auto

# Test pattern addition
gitignore *.log .env

# Cleanup
cd / && rm -rf /tmp/gitignore-test

Integration Testing

# Test with Git
git init /tmp/test-repo
cd /tmp/test-repo
gitignore init rust
git status

🆘 Troubleshooting Installation

Common Installation Issues

“curl: command not found”

# Install curl first
# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install curl

# macOS
# curl is built-in, check PATH
which curl

“Permission denied” during installation

# Use sudo for system directories
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mahbubhs/gitignore/main/install.sh | sudo bash

# Or install to user directory
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mahbubhs/gitignore/main/install.sh | bash -s ~/.local

“make: command not found”

# Install build tools
# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install build-essential

# macOS
xcode-select --install

“libcurl not found” during build

# Install development headers
# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install libcurl4-openssl-dev

# Check library path
pkg-config --libs libcurl

Build Troubleshooting

Compilation errors

# Check compiler version
gcc --version

# Clean and rebuild
make clean
make

# Verbose build output
make V=1

Template generation fails

# Check template files exist
ls -la templates/

# Check script permissions
chmod +x scripts/generate_templates.sh

# Manual generation
./scripts/generate_templates.sh

Runtime Issues

“Command not found” after installation

# Check PATH
echo $PATH
which gitignore

# Add to PATH
export PATH="/usr/local/bin:$PATH"

“Library not found” errors

# Check dynamic linking
ldd $(which gitignore)

# Reinstall dependencies
sudo apt-get install --reinstall libcurl4-openssl-dev

🔄 Upgrading

Automated Upgrade

# Re-run installation script
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mahbubhs/gitignore/main/install.sh | bash

Manual Upgrade

# Update source
cd /path/to/gitignore/source
git pull
make clean
make templates
make
sudo make install

Checking Version

# Current version
gitignore --version

# Check for updates
curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/mahbubhs/gitignore/releases/latest | grep '"tag_name"' | cut -d'"' -f4

🗑️ Uninstallation

Script-based Installation

# Remove binary
sudo rm /usr/local/bin/gitignore
sudo rm /usr/local/share/man/man1/gitignore.1

# Remove user data
rm -rf ~/.config/gitignore

Source-based Installation

# From source directory
sudo make uninstall

# Manual cleanup
rm -rf ~/.config/gitignore

Complete Cleanup

# Remove all traces
sudo rm -f /usr/local/bin/gitignore
sudo rm -f /usr/local/share/man/man1/gitignore.1
rm -rf ~/.config/gitignore
rm -rf ~/.cache/gitignore  # If exists

📊 Installation Analytics

Method	Platforms	Root Required	Offline Capable
Automated Script	Linux, macOS, WSL	Optional	No
Source Build	All	Optional	Yes
Package Managers	Limited	Varies	Varies
Docker	All	No	No

📚 Next Steps

Once installed, explore:

• Quick Start Guide - Basic usage patterns
• Usage Reference - Complete command documentation
• Configuration Guide - Customize behavior
• Template Reference - Available templates

🔗 Related Documentation

• Building Guide - Development setup
• Contributing Guide - Development workflow
• Troubleshooting - Common issues

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