How to add file into SourceTree Git but not track changes so file remains in repository

Question

I am quite confused by the several subtle variations of the above question that result in a completely different thing being asked.

Basically I want to add a file into my repository so that whenever I clone my repository this file gets created. However, I do not want any changes to be tracked so basically Git will ignore the changes done to the file AFTER it has been committed into the repository the first time.

I want the file to exist in the repository so it is always created when I clone the repository but, it must not be deleted, but further any changes should be ignored.

How do I achieve this in SourceTree or directly in Git?

Gyuunyuu · Answer

Ok, and how do I know what files have this attribute applied to them?
Is it possible to do this from the SourceTree GUI?

Rudy Holtkamp · Answer

Sorry I was mistaking, you need to execute the following command:

git update-index --assume-unchanged <file>

This will let git ignore the file locally.

Gyuunyuu · Answer

ok, I just added the file into the gitignore list, however, it still shows up in the unstaged files list in sourcetree.

Using the  git status --ignored does not show it in the Ignored files list :|

The file is added into the repository so it is created when the repository is cloned. But, I want any further changes to be ignored. I don't know if an added file can be ignored using the .gitignore list.