-e <pattern>::
--exclude=<pattern>::
- Specify special exceptions to not be cleaned. Each <pattern> is
- the same form as in $GIT_DIR/info/excludes and this option can be
- given multiple times.
+ In addition to those found in .gitignore (per directory) and
+ $GIT_DIR/info/exclude, also consider these patterns to be in the
+ set of the ignore rules in effect.
-x::
- Don't use the ignore rules. This allows removing all untracked
+ Don't use the standard ignore rules read from .gitignore (per
+ directory) and $GIT_DIR/info/exclude, but do still use the ignore
+ rules given with `-e` options. This allows removing all untracked
files, including build products. This can be used (possibly in
conjunction with 'git reset') to create a pristine
working directory to test a clean build.