Ignoring Files Without .gitignore

In the .git folder, there is a directory called info, and in it, there is a filed called exclude.

So .git/info/exclude is your alternative to .gitignore.

The benefit: let's say only you care about a specific file, but highly unlikely that anyone else would care about that specific file. It doesn't make sense to pollute the .gitignore just for ignoring a file that only you care about.