how to use `.gitkeep` file to keep a folder but not other files/folders inside that folder, what should the .gitignore file look like

To keep an empty folder in a Git repository, you can use a .gitkeep file. However, it's important to note that .gitkeep is not a special Git feature but rather a convention used by developers to ensure empty directories are tracked by Git.

Here's how you can use a .gitkeep file to keep a folder but not other files/folders inside that folder:

1. Create the folder structure:
   Create the folder you want to keep. Let's say the folder is named example.

   mkdir example
   

2. Add a .gitkeep file:
   Inside the example folder, create a .gitkeep file.

   touch example/.gitkeep
   

3. Modify the .gitignore file:
   To ignore all other files and subdirectories inside the example folder, you need to create or modify the .gitignore file in your repository.

   Here is what the .gitignore file should look like:

   # Ignore everything in the example directory
   example/*
   
   # But do not ignore the .gitkeep file
   !example/.gitkeep
   

   This configuration tells Git to:

   • Ignore all files and subdirectories inside the example folder (example/*).
   • Exclude the .gitkeep file from being ignored (!example/.gitkeep).

4. Add and commit the changes:
   Add the .gitkeep file and the .gitignore file to your Git repository and commit the changes.

   git add example/.gitkeep .gitignore
   git commit -m "Keep the example folder using .gitkeep"
   

By following these steps, you ensure that the example folder is kept in the repository, but no other files or subdirectories inside that folder are tracked by Git.