diff --git a/src/auto_commit_service/git/__pycache__/operations.cpython-312.pyc b/src/auto_commit_service/git/__pycache__/operations.cpython-312.pyc
index dd26ac0..f434fee 100644
Binary files a/src/auto_commit_service/git/__pycache__/operations.cpython-312.pyc and b/src/auto_commit_service/git/__pycache__/operations.cpython-312.pyc differ
diff --git a/src/auto_commit_service/git/operations.py b/src/auto_commit_service/git/operations.py
index e5a0df4..73b28e0 100644
--- a/src/auto_commit_service/git/operations.py
+++ b/src/auto_commit_service/git/operations.py
@@ -166,64 +166,68 @@ async def git_add_all(repo_path: Path) -> None:
 
 
 async def git_check_ignored(repo_path: Path, files: list[str]) -> list[str]:
-    """Check which files are ignored by .gitignore, including tracked files.
+    """Check which files git will refuse to stage due to .gitignore.
+
+    Uses `git add --dry-run` to detect files that will fail to stage,
+    including tracked files now covered by .gitignore patterns.
 
     Args:
         repo_path: Path to the repository
         files: List of file paths to check
 
     Returns:
-        List of files that are NOT ignored (safe to stage)
+        List of files that are safe to stage (not ignored)
     """
     if not files:
         return []
 
     try:
-        # CRITICAL: git check-ignore won't flag tracked files, even if now in .gitignore
-        # Use `ls-files -i --exclude-standard` to find tracked-but-ignored files
-        file_list = "\n".join(files)
-
-        # Check for tracked-but-ignored files (batch to avoid ARG_MAX)
-        tracked_ignored = set()
+        # CRITICAL: The only reliable way to detect stageable files is to try staging them
+        # with --dry-run. Neither check-ignore nor ls-files -i work for tracked-but-ignored files.
+        # Batch to avoid ARG_MAX
         BATCH_SIZE = 1000
-        if len(files) > BATCH_SIZE:
-            for i in range(0, len(files), BATCH_SIZE):
-                batch = files[i : i + BATCH_SIZE]
-                stdout, _, _ = await _run_git_command(
-                    "ls-files", "-i", "--exclude-standard", "--",
-                    *batch,
-                    cwd=repo_path,
-                    check=False,
-                )
-                if stdout.strip():
-                    tracked_ignored.update(stdout.strip().split("\n"))
-        else:
-            tracked_ignored_stdout, _, _ = await _run_git_command(
-                "ls-files", "-i", "--exclude-standard", "--",
-                *files,
+        safe_files = []
+        ignored_files = []
+
+        batches = [files[i : i + BATCH_SIZE] for i in range(0, len(files), BATCH_SIZE)]
+
+        for batch in batches:
+            # Try dry-run add - exit code 0 = success, 128 = some files ignored
+            stdout, stderr, returncode = await _run_git_command(
+                "add", "--dry-run", "--",
+                *batch,
                 cwd=repo_path,
                 check=False,
             )
-            if tracked_ignored_stdout.strip():
-                tracked_ignored = set(tracked_ignored_stdout.strip().split("\n"))
 
-        # Also check for untracked/new ignored files (uses stdin, no ARG_MAX issue)
-        untracked_ignored_stdout, _, _ = await _run_git_command(
-            "check-ignore", "--stdin",
-            cwd=repo_path,
-            check=False,
-            stdin=file_list.encode()
-        )
-        untracked_ignored = set(untracked_ignored_stdout.strip().split("\n")) if untracked_ignored_stdout.strip() else set()
+            if returncode == 0:
+                # All files in batch are safe
+                safe_files.extend(batch)
+            elif returncode == 128 and "ignored" in stderr.lower():
+                # Some files are ignored - parse error message to find which ones
+                # Git error format: "The following paths are ignored by one of your .gitignore files:\npath1\npath2"
+                lines = stderr.split("\n")
+                for i, line in enumerate(lines):
+                    if "following paths are ignored" in line.lower():
+                        # Next lines until "hint:" are the ignored paths
+                        for ignored_line in lines[i + 1:]:
+                            if ignored_line.startswith("hint:") or not ignored_line.strip():
+                                break
+                            ignored_path = ignored_line.strip()
+                            if ignored_path:
+                                ignored_files.append(ignored_path)
 
-        # Combine both sets of ignored files
-        all_ignored = tracked_ignored | untracked_ignored
+                # Files not in ignored list are safe
+                safe_files.extend([f for f in batch if f not in ignored_files and not any(f.startswith(ig + "/") for ig in ignored_files)])
+            else:
+                # Unknown error - be conservative and include all files
+                logger.warning(f"git add --dry-run returned {returncode}: {stderr}, including all files from batch")
+                safe_files.extend(batch)
 
-        if all_ignored:
-            logger.info(f"Filtered {len(all_ignored)} gitignored files ({len(tracked_ignored)} tracked-but-ignored, {len(untracked_ignored)} new)")
+        if ignored_files:
+            logger.info(f"Filtered {len(ignored_files)} gitignored files (detected via dry-run)")
 
-        # Return only non-ignored files
-        return [f for f in files if f not in all_ignored]
+        return safe_files
 
     except GitError as e:
         # If check fails, return all files (safer than blocking commits)