git add not adding changes when used from inner directories

Question

I have the following directories projectdir>subdir>subsubdir and .git folder inside projectdir

When i do git add . from subsubdir the changes inside projectdir are not added to Changes to be committed:

$ git status  
On branch master
Your branch is up to date with 'basicdjango/master'.

Changes to be committed:
  (use "git reset HEAD <file>..." to unstage)

    modified:   ../../.gitignore
    new file:   .env.example
    modified:   settings.py

Changes not staged for commit:
  (use "git add <file>..." to update what will be committed)
  (use "git checkout -- <file>..." to discard changes in working directory)

    modified:   ../../.gitignore

So how can i add changes till the projectdir

Romain Valeri · Accepted Answer · 2019-04-05 10:09:52Z

2

. is syntax for "everything in the present directory" (and recursively inside its subdirectories).

So you could either :

move to the upper directory before doing your add. Let's just skip this option since avoiding this seemed to be the very source of your question.
do the same thing, but ease the process with an alias for your add, embedding a cd before it. I'm not too sure about recommending this one, though, as it could contribute to set lazy habits while being potentially dangerous.
refrain from using git add . every time. It's a handy tool but unneccessary in many cases with only a few files or directories. (And using only this shortcut could lead to just ignoring the existence of the index, which is probably not a good practice)
use git add -A which adds every file, with the same caveats stated above. (beware of old git versions where this had the same behaviour as git add .)

edited Apr 5, 2019 at 10:09

answered Apr 5, 2019 at 8:17

Romain Valeri

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6 Comments

Santhosh Over a year ago

So what should i use instead of git add .

Santhosh Over a year ago

i think git add -A is the solution. I tried it inside inner directories and it add changes of previous folder files

Romain Valeri Over a year ago

@SanthoshYedidi Yes, it's technically doing what you want. Just be cautious with it, it can be a source of mistakes.

Santhosh Over a year ago

why source of mistakes

padawin Over a year ago

git add -u will add every changes from tracked files, ignoring untracked. In any case, I'd highly recommend to rather use git add -p (long version is --patch) to be selective of what you add. I wrote some explanations on my website a while back about it: ghislain-rodrigues.fr/articles/git-add---interactive.html

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