Prevent accidental checkin of password file using git

Question

git does not seem to do what I want here so I need some advise. I have a configuration file with sensitive information such as passwords. Say I have checked in the config file with blank/generic values:

username =
password =

Now I fill it with real values, and then add the file to .gitignore (the filename is build.properties)

username = bob
password = secretpassword

Even though I have added it to .gitignore, git still seems to "see it". What should I do here?

hostname$ more .gitignore 
build
ant.build
*.swp
build.properties

hostname$ git status
# On branch dev
# Changed but not updated:
#   (use "git add <file>..." to update what will be committed)
#   (use "git checkout -- <file>..." to discard changes in working directory)
#
#   modified:   build.properties
#
no changes added to commit (use "git add" and/or "git commit -a")

Am I misunderstanding something?

Answer 1

Well it says modified: build.properties, so someone has checked-in this file already. Best guess of mine would be: delete the file, commit the changes and then re-create it without checking-in.

Answer 2

.gitignore will only ignore files not already checked in. in your case you need to create an password.file.template and check that in. then put your password.file in the .gitignore file.