fix: untrack a node_modules symlink carrying an absolute local path - #119
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`node_modules` was committed as a **symlink** (mode 120000) whose content is an absolute path on one contributor's machine. A fresh clone therefore gets a dangling link pointing at a directory that does not exist, and the path itself is published. `.gitignore` already had `node_modules/`. The trailing slash matches a DIRECTORY, and this is a symlink with that name, so the ignore rule never applied and `git add -A` picked it up. Both forms are now listed. How it got here, since the mechanism matters more than the file: the docs branches were built in parallel `git worktree` checkouts, and each worktree had `node_modules` symlinked to the main checkout so the VuePress build would run without a second install. `git add -A` in one of those worktrees then staged the link. The lesson is not "be careful with add -A" but that the ignore rule was shaped for the wrong object type all along — any contributor doing the same thing would have hit it. No history rewrite: the path is a local directory name, not a credential, and rewriting a public repo's history invalidates every clone and fork.
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node_modulesis tracked onmainas a symlink (mode120000) whose content is an absolute path on one contributor's machine:A fresh clone gets a dangling link pointing at a directory that does not exist, and the local path is published in a public repository.
Why the existing ignore rule did not catch it
.gitignorealready hadnode_modules/. The trailing slash matches a directory, and this is a symlink with that name — so the rule never applied andgit add -Astaged it. Both forms are now listed.How it got here
The docs branches were built in parallel
git worktreecheckouts, and each worktree hadnode_modulessymlinked back to the main checkout so the VuePress build could run without a second 297-package install. Agit add -Ain one of those worktrees staged the link.The lesson isn't "be careful with
add -A" — it's that the ignore rule was shaped for the wrong object type all along. Any contributor symlinkingnode_modulesfor any reason would have hit exactly this.Not a history rewrite
The value is a local directory path, not a credential. Rewriting a public repository's history invalidates every clone, fork and commit SHA, which is not a trade worth making here.