Is it possible to make git to track empty folders? [duplicate]

Answer 1

Personally I usually solve this by having a file called dir.info in every directory that has some text stating what the directory is there for.

However, if you need to create specific, empty, directories after a checkout with those directories possibly being specific to specific branches I would suggest git post-checkout hooks are made to order - you can have a list in your top level directory of the empty directories that are needed and not needed and with about 5 lines of python you can create them if required and delete those that are not.

I would probably do something like having - or + in the first char depending on which should be removed or added.

Something like, (with the error handling added):

import os

dirlist = open("Dirlist.Name", "rt")
for line in dirlist:
    flag = line[0]
    name = line[1:].strip()
    if flag == '+':
        os.makedirs(name)
    elif flag == '-':
        os.removedirs(name)
    else:
        print "Ignored:", line

Answer 2

With a really empty folder, the answer is no. It's not possible because of how Git technically handles data.

BUT, if you're OK to accept some compromise: just create some file, like .gitignore or whatever inside the directory you want be seen, and you're done. README file can be a solution, but I would personnally not use that name because that would create confusion with people thinking there's content inside those files.

See How can I add an empty directory to a Git repository? for a very similar question.