A .gitignore file is a file that tells git what files not to track. If you import a git repo with a .gitignore file, it will be imported as well, and its rules concerning which files not to track will be applied.
If you run an Rstudio Cloud Workstation, a .gitignore will be automatically added to your capsule.
If you drag and drop a file from /code to /data , you will get a message informing you that a .gitignore file has been created.
If there are large files in the data that prevent you from clicking on "commit changes" in the UI (check the git size here). Please add the .gitignore file and add those files manually.