What is the .gitkeep file doing in my repository?

.gitkeep is not an official Git file but is a convention used by developers working with Git. Git does not track empty folders, so if you want to commit an empty directory to your repository, you need to include some file in it. The .gitkeep is the file often used for this purpose. Its name makes clear that its only role is to ensure Git retains the otherwise empty folder. The file itself is usually empty and can be named anything; .gitkeep is simply a widely accepted convention.

DeviceLink may need to add a .gitkeep file if you are trying to back up results to a folder that does not yet have any files. You can safely delete the .gitkeep file once you've added other files to the folder.