Git add not adding files

Question

when I try to git add my files, I typed

git add <insert file names here>

That works correctly. However, when I try to do

git commit -a

My git repository tells me that it's empty. What is outputted is:

# On branch master
# Untracked files:
#   (use "git add <file>..." to include in what will be committed) 
#
<insert name of files here>

nothing added to commit but untracked files present (use "git add" to track)

Might anyone know the solution to this? Thanks.

Answer 1

And you may also want to make sure you're in the root of your project. I had that problem for a while on a Rails project a while back & then realized I was in the /config directory. Whoops! #noobmistake

Answer 2

The -a flag to git commit overwrites your staging area ("index"). Look at what the man page says:

   -a, --all
       Tell the command to automatically stage files that have been modified
       and deleted, but new files you have not told git about are not
       affected.

A rule of thumb is to use a plain git commit when you have used git add . The command git commit -a is for when you want to commit every change in the repository but can't bother to git add them.

PS. git add -A is useful: it adds all non-ignored new files in your working tree