Unable to Stage Changes in Git for Specific Files, Getting Consistent Output

Question

I'm currently facing a persistent issue with staging changes using Git. No matter which commands I try, I keep getting the same output when I check git status. The output consistently looks like this:

Changes not staged for commit:
(use "git add <file>..." to update what will be committed)
(use "git restore <file>..." to discard changes in working directory)
modified: src/components/ChipButton.jsx
modified: src/components/Layout.jsx

no changes added to commit (use "git add" and/or "git commit -a")

I've ensured that I'm in the correct repository directory, and I've attempted various commands, including git add -A, git add ., and git add -u. However, the changes in the mentioned files (src/components/ChipButton.jsx and src/components/Layout.jsx) refuse to stage.

I've also verified that these files are not listed in the .gitignore file.

Despite referring to online resources and trying different approaches, I've been unable to move past this roadblock. I appreciate your patience and apologize for any confusion in my previous questions where I included images.

Could you kindly provide guidance on how to proceed?

Answer 1

Maybe the project includes files whose names differ only in case, and your local copy of the repository is in a case-insensitive filesystem? In that case git would expect, say Layout.jsx and layout.jsx, to have distinct contents, but in your repository they would be a single common file (so can't match git's expectation for both). The fix would be to rename the files upstream or clone to a case-sensitive filesystem.

Answer 2

This issue is indeed related to filename case-insensitivity in Git. If you're encountering a situation where files are not getting staged even after using the git add command,

Execute the following command to clear the Git cache while maintaining your working directory and file changes:

git rm -r --cached .

This command removes the entire cache but preserves your local changes.

After running the cache removal command, proceed to add and stage your files as usual using the git add command. Finally, commit your staged changes using the git commit command.

This process should fix the issue and allow you to properly stage your files. This solution is based on the information provided in the Stack Overflow post I came across.