If your repository is cluttered with unnecessary files, slow check-ins, and confusing changes, your .gitignore likely needs attention—especially in enterprise ERP development. In Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations, managing source control properly isn’t optional; it directly impacts build reliability, collaboration, and deployment efficiency.
This guide walks you through how to use .gitignore effectively in D365 F&O projects—and includes a ready-to-use sample you can download and apply immediately.
🚀 Why .gitignore matters in D365 F&O
Development in D365 F&O using Visual Studio produces a large number of temporary, generated, and environment-specific files.
If these files are committed into Git:
- Your repository size grows unnecessarily
- Developers face constant merge conflicts
- Builds become inconsistent across environments
.gitignore ensures only relevant, reproducible source files are tracked.
📂 What should NOT go into source control
1) Build outputs & binaries
These are generated during compilation and should never be committed:
**/bin/
**/obj/
**/*.dll
**/*.pdb
2) Visual Studio user-specific files
These vary by developer machine:
*.suo
*.user
*.userosscache
*.sln.docstates
.vs/
3) D365 F&O generated artifacts
System-generated metadata and temp files:
**/xppMetadata/Temp/
**/xppMetadata/Generated/
**/xppSource/Temp/
