How to ignore all hidden directories/files recursively in a git repository?

Just add a pattern to .gitignore

.*
!/.gitignore

Edit: Added the .gitignore file itself (matters if it is not yet commited).

.gitignore will only effect files that haven't been 'added' already.

To make new .gitignore entries affect all files

1. Make changes to .gitignore
2. git commit -a -m "Pre .gitignore changes"
3. git rm -r --cached .
4. git add .
5. git commit -a -m "Post .gitignore changes"
6. git status should output "nothing to commit (working directory clean)" `

In .git/info/exclude, add this line:

.*

This will make ignoring all hidden/dot files recursively the default for every repository on the machine. A separate .gitignore file for every repo is not needed this way.