How do I remove version tracking from a project cloned from git?

All the data Git uses for information is stored in .git/, so removing it should work just fine. Of course, make sure that your working copy is in the exact state that you want it, because everything else will be lost. .git folder is hidden so make sure you turn on the "Show hidden files, folders and disks" option.

From there, you can run git init to create a fresh repository.

rm -rf .git should suffice. That will blow away all Git-related information.

In addition to the steps below, you may want to also remove the .gitignore file.

• Consider removing the .gitignore file if you want to remove any trace of Git in your project.

• ** Consider leaving the .gitignore file if you would ever want reincorporate Git into the project.

Some frameworks may automatically produce the .gitignore file so you may want to leave it.

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Linux, Mac, or Unix based operating systems

Open a terminal and navigate to the directory of your project, i.e. - cd path_to_your_project.

Run this command:

rm -rf .git*

This will remove the Git tracking and metadata from your project. If you want to keep the metadata (such as .gitignore and .gitkeep), you can delete only the tracking by running rm -rf .git.

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Windows

Using the command prompt

The rmdir or rd command will not delete/remove any hidden files or folders within the directory you specify, so you should use the del command to be sure that all files are removed from the .git folder.

1. Open the command prompt

   1. Either click Start then Run or hit the key and r at the same time.

   2. Type cmd and hit enter

2. Navigate to the project directory, i.e. - cd path_to_your_project

3. Run these commands

   1. del /F /S /Q /A .git

   2. rmdir .git

The first command removes all files and folder within the .git folder. The second removes the .git folder itself.

No command prompt

1. Open the file explorer and navigate to your project

2. Show hidden files and folders - refer to this article for a visual guide

   1. In the view menu on the toolbar, select Options

   2. In the Advanced Settings section, find Hidden files and Folders under the Files and Folders list and select Show hidden files and folders

3. Close the options menu and you should see all hidden folders and files including the .git folder.

   Delete the .git folder Delete the .gitignore file ** (see note at the top of this answer)