Tell your AI what not to save
30 September 2026 · 2 min read
What happened
My music project quietly saved every video render and audio file for four months. It grew to 2.4 GB.
I keep my projects on GitHub, which is like an online backup for code. GitHub refuses any single upload over 2 GB, so one day it simply refused, and I had to strip all the big files back out.
Before and after
Day one, the usual way
“Set up a project for my music videos.”
→ Everything gets saved, including gigabytes of files you can make again in seconds.
Day one, with one extra line
“Set up a project for my music videos. Add a .gitignore so videos and audio stay on my PC and are never uploaded.”
→ Your words and settings are backed up. The heavy files stay local.
Why it works
A .gitignore is a small text file that lists what not to save. Your AI can write it for you in seconds, but only if you ask.
Big files that you can make again (renders, exports, downloads) do not need backing up. The things you cannot recreate, like your notes, settings and writing, do.
This tip started as a post on X.