Spring Boot .gitignore template

This template hedges on the build tool. target and the Maven wrapper negation cover one, while .gradle, build and the Gradle wrapper negation cover the other, so a project gets the right rules without anyone choosing. The cost is a handful of rules that will never match anything in your repository, which is harmless.

The two wrapper negations are the same idea in both ecosystems. Ignoring *.jar would also catch the wrapper jar, which is the small bootstrapper committed on purpose so that a clone can build without the build tool installed. Both negations put it back, and both are the reason those broad archive rules are safe.

HELP.md is the getting started file the project generator writes into a new project. It contains links to documentation for the starters you selected and nothing project specific, so most teams delete it rather than ignore it, but the rule catches it either way.

The editor sections cover three tools. The first covers a set of Eclipse based files: .classpath, .project, .settings, .factorypath, .apt_generated and .springBeans. The second covers .idea plus *.iml, *.iws and *.ipr. The third covers the NetBeans directories. Comment lines separate them, which is why this template renders with section headers.

What is missing is the thing most likely to leak. Application configuration lives in a properties or YAML file under src/main/resources, and a local profile variant holding a real database password is a normal thing to have. Nothing here ignores it, so add a rule for your local profile file yourself.