title: Git: How to ignore/specify files for *checkout*
body: <p>If I don't want .html files tracked I can add the pattern to .gitignore and they'll be ignored. I'd like to know how I can do the converse - at checkout, how could I ask git to only checkout certain types of files or not checkout certain types of files?</p>
  <p>For example, if I didn't want html files I could write:</p>
  <pre><code>git checkout HEAD . --no .html
  </code></pre>
  <p>if that existed. Is there a way already built in, or do I just have to run something else post-checkout?</p>