Keep local repo files out of git without changing .gitignore
layer is a CLI for managing local-only files in a git repo without polluting the shared gitignore. It uses git/info/exclude to hide personal files like notes, prompts, specs, and scratch docs from git status, while keeping them on disk. It also supports quick hide/unhide with layer off / layer on, and keeps private local snapshot history for hidden files so you can diff or recover changes later.
I built layer from a pretty simple repo problem.
In team repos, people often keep their own local files around for work — notes, prompts, specs, scratch docs, temporary investigation files, and other markdown files with custom names. These files are useful, but they usually should stay local and not go into the shared .gitignore.
Git already has .git/info/exclude for this, but I wanted a simpler workflow around it.
I also added layer off / layer on because sometimes hidden files stop showing up naturally in repo navigation or file suggestions, and I wanted an easy way to temporarily show them again.
The other part I wanted to solve was history. Once those files are hidden from Git, normal Git history is not very helpful for diff or recovery, so layer also keeps a private local snapshot history for them.
Happy to answer anything, and also curious how other people handle this today.
About layer on Product Hunt
“Keep local repo files out of git without changing .gitignore”
layer launched on Product Hunt on March 31st, 2026 and earned 88 upvotes and 1 comments, placing #23 on the daily leaderboard. layer is a CLI for managing local-only files in a git repo without polluting the shared gitignore. It uses git/info/exclude to hide personal files like notes, prompts, specs, and scratch docs from git status, while keeping them on disk. It also supports quick hide/unhide with layer off / layer on, and keeps private local snapshot history for hidden files so you can diff or recover changes later.
On the analytics side, layer competes within Open Source, Developer Tools and GitHub — topics that collectively have 620.7k followers on Product Hunt. The dashboard above tracks how layer performed against the three products that launched closest to it on the same day.
Who hunted layer?
layer was hunted by Aung Si Min Htet. A “hunter” on Product Hunt is the community member who submits a product to the platform — uploading the images, the link, and tagging the makers behind it. Hunters typically write the first comment explaining why a product is worth attention, and their followers are notified the moment they post. Around 79% of featured launches on Product Hunt are self-hunted by their makers, but a well-known hunter still acts as a signal of quality to the rest of the community. See the full all-time top hunters leaderboard to discover who is shaping the Product Hunt ecosystem.
For a complete overview of layer including community comment highlights and product details, visit the product overview.
Aung Si Min Htet