Why ignore local.properties?

local.properties stores the absolute path to each developer's Android SDK and NDK, which differs per machine. Committing it breaks builds for other contributors, so Android Studio generates it locally and it must stay ignored.

Should I commit signing keystores?

No. A *.jks or *.keystore file plus its passwords sign your release builds; leaking them lets anyone publish updates impersonating your app. Keep them out of the repo and store them in a secure secrets manager or CI vault.

Why ignore the build/ and .gradle/ folders?

These hold compiled output and Gradle's cache, both regenerated from your source on every build. Committing them bloats the repo and causes merge conflicts with no benefit.

Do I commit the Gradle wrapper?

Yes. The gradlew scripts and gradle/wrapper files pin the exact Gradle version your project needs, so they belong in version control and are not ignored by this builder.

Is anything uploaded to a server?

No. The templates are built into the page and the file is assembled in your browser, so nothing about your project leaves your machine.

.gitignore Builder for Android Studio

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A .gitignore builder for Android Studio projects in Java or Kotlin. Tick the sections your app uses — Gradle build output, local.properties, packaged APK/AAB artifacts, IDE settings and signing keystores — and the tool assembles a clean, labelled .gitignore.

How it works

Each toggle adds a curated block of patterns under a # Header comment. The Gradle / build block ignores .gradle/, build/ and per-module */build/ directories that Gradle regenerates. The Local config block ignores local.properties, which points to each developer’s SDK path. The artifacts block ignores generated *.apk, *.aab, *.dex and mapping.txt, and the keystores block keeps signing files like *.jks out of version control.

What gets ignored

local.properties is excluded because it is machine-specific. The Android Studio block ignores .idea/ and *.iml so each developer keeps their own IDE setup. The Keystores block ignores *.jks, *.keystore and keystore.properties — these are security-sensitive and must never be committed.

Tips

Place the file at the root of your repository so the rules cover every module. Always commit the Gradle wrapper (gradlew, gradle/wrapper/) so contributors and CI use the same Gradle version. Store signing keystores and passwords in a CI secrets vault, never the repo. If a build file is already tracked, run git rm --cached <file> and commit so the ignore rule takes effect.