TortoiseSVN: How to ignore bin contents from commit

You can ignore directories and files on a global level. But instead of hacking the config file, as described in the answer of Calciol, you can use the Settings dialog:

To start the Settings dialog:

• start menu: TortoiseSVN ==> Settings.
• right-click in explorer to bring up the context menu. TortoiseSVN ==> Settings.

Changes become effective immediately after applying.

To ignore bin, obj and .suo files and user file from all projects. Just add them to the config file in:

C:\Users\[USERNAME]\AppData\Roaming\Subversion\config ( in windows )

Locate global-ignores part and add the following:

global-ignores = *.suo bin obj *.csproj.user

You can find the answer in the TortoiseSVN manual and SVNBook.

TortoiseSVN Manual tells us:

If the files are already in the repository, they have to be deleted from the repository and added to the ignore list. Fortunately TortoiseSVN has a convenient shortcut for doing this. TortoiseSVN → Unversion and add to ignore list will first mark the file/folder for deletion from the repository, keeping the local copy. It also adds this item to the ignore list so that it will not be added back into Subversion again by mistake. Once this is done you just need to commit the parent folder.

See the important note from SVNBook; it explains the behavior and "why it does not work" in your case.

Subversion's support for ignorable file patterns extends only to the one-time process of adding unversioned files and directories to version control. Once an object is under Subversion's control, the ignore pattern mechanisms no longer apply to it. In other words, don't expect Subversion to avoid committing changes you've made to a versioned file simply because that file's name matches an ignore pattern—Subversion always notices all of its versioned objects.

Basic answer: Don't store compiled libraries and binaries in your Source repository. It's a source repository!

You can't ignore stuff under Subversion control and built items shouldn't be stored in Subversion in the first place. Delete them, then setup a svn:ignore to ignore these directories when they get built. That way, no one accidently recommits these built binaries.

If you want to store binaries and libraries for later use, use a release repository for that. In fact, you can even set it up, so that your builds will automatically download .dlls they might need from other projects. A release repository could be something as simple as a directory on another system where these files are stored (and can be copied to your other projects), or something more complex like Artifactory or Nexus (used for Maven and Ivy projects. I don't think there's something similar for VS and C/C++ projects).

Or, you can use Jenkins to do your builds, and store these items as built artifacts in Jenkins jobs. When someone needs them, they can download them through Jenkins.