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P4 CLI Documentation | 2026.1

# Ignoring groups of files when adding

Sometimes development processes result in the creation of extraneous content that should not be submitted to the depot. Possible examples:

- compilers produce object files and executables during development
- text editors and word processors produce backup files
- some individuals might have informal notes on work in progress

To ignore files (or groups of files) when adding to the depot:

1. Create a file with a list of file specifications to ignore.
2. Set the `P4IGNORE` environment variable to point to this file.

When you add files, the full local path and parent directories of any file to be added are searched for `P4IGNORE` files. If any `P4IGNORE` files exist, their rules are added to a list, with greater precedence given to `P4IGNORE` rules closest to the file being added. For details on syntax and an example, see P4IGNORE.

To override the `P4IGNORE` file, use the `-I` option with the `p4 add`, `p4 reconcile`, or `p4 status` commands.

## Reporting ignored files

The p4 ignores command reports the ignore mappings in effect. Specifically, it displays the ignore mappings from the rules in the `P4IGNORE` file. If you add the `-i` option, it reports whether a particular file (or set of files) will be ignored.

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