Remove Directories Safely

Remove folder/directory only from git index but not locally

git rm -r --cached folder_name
git commit -m "Removed folder from repository"
git push origin master
echo "/folder_name" >> .gitignore

• removes the folder from the index
• committing without the folder
• push only the tracked to the remote
• add the folder name to .gitignore to prevent further upload/commit

Remote has a folder that shouldn't be there

Fixing Hanging Node_module Uploaded to Remote Repo

Add /node_modules to the .gitignore file

• This alone won't remove what is already uploaded to remote

/node_modules

Remove reference with this command (remember to commit everything before doing this)

git rm -rf --cached .

Delete /node_modules from local project

Commit this command which will delete the /node_modules from both remote and local

git add .