diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 74de427db6..beeed7cff9 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ This is the log of notable changes to EAS CLI and related packages.
 
 - [eas-cli] Fix workflow:logs for builds using built-in EAS build steps. ([#3523](https://github.com/expo/eas-cli/pull/3523) by [@douglowder](https://github.com/douglowder))
 - [build-tools][worker] Read Expo app config with `expo config` CLI invocation before falling back to `@expo/config` ([#3536](https://github.com/expo/eas-cli/pull/3536) by [@kitten](https://github.com/kitten))
+- Fix workflow detection for tracked `.gitignore`d native projects when `requireCommit` is disabled. ([#3561](https://github.com/expo/eas-cli/pull/3561) by [@sjchmiela](https://github.com/sjchmiela))
 
 ### 🧹 Chores
 
@@ -64,6 +65,8 @@ This is the log of notable changes to EAS CLI and related packages.
 - Remove --environment flag requirement for update:configure. ([#3440](https://github.com/expo/eas-cli/pull/3440) by [@douglowder](https://github.com/douglowder))
 - Fix login spinner interfering with prompts in `eas go` command when not logged in. ([#3451](https://github.com/expo/eas-cli/pull/3451) by [@byronkarlen](https://github.com/byronkarlen))
 
+### 🧹 Chores
+
 ## [18.0.6](https://github.com/expo/eas-cli/releases/tag/v18.0.6) - 2026-02-27
 
 ## [18.0.5](https://github.com/expo/eas-cli/releases/tag/v18.0.5) - 2026-02-25
diff --git a/packages/eas-cli/src/project/__tests__/workflow-git.test.ts b/packages/eas-cli/src/project/__tests__/workflow-git.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9c6d49cd14
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/eas-cli/src/project/__tests__/workflow-git.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+import spawnAsync from '@expo/spawn-async';
+import { Platform, Workflow } from '@expo/eas-build-job';
+import fs from 'fs/promises';
+import os from 'os';
+import path from 'path';
+
+import GitClient from '../../vcs/clients/git';
+import { resolveWorkflowAsync } from '../workflow';
+
+describe('resolveWorkflowAsync with GitClient', () => {
+  let repoRoot: string;
+
+  beforeEach(async () => {
+    repoRoot = await fs.realpath(
+      await fs.mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'eas-cli-workflow-test-'))
+    );
+    await spawnAsync('git', ['init'], { cwd: repoRoot });
+    await spawnAsync('git', ['config', 'user.email', 'test@example.com'], { cwd: repoRoot });
+    await spawnAsync('git', ['config', 'user.name', 'Test User'], { cwd: repoRoot });
+  });
+
+  afterEach(async () => {
+    await fs.rm(repoRoot, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  });
+
+  it('treats tracked gitignored native projects as managed when requireCommit is false', async () => {
+    const vcsClient = new GitClient({
+      requireCommit: false,
+      maybeCwdOverride: repoRoot,
+    });
+
+    await fs.mkdir(path.join(repoRoot, 'ios', 'app.xcodeproj'), { recursive: true });
+    await fs.writeFile(path.join(repoRoot, 'ios', 'app.xcodeproj', 'project.pbxproj'), 'fake');
+    await fs.writeFile(path.join(repoRoot, '.gitignore'), 'ios/\n');
+
+    await spawnAsync('git', ['add', '.gitignore'], { cwd: repoRoot });
+    await spawnAsync('git', ['add', '-f', 'ios/app.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj'], { cwd: repoRoot });
+    await spawnAsync('git', ['commit', '-m', 'test setup'], { cwd: repoRoot });
+
+    await expect(resolveWorkflowAsync(repoRoot, Platform.IOS, vcsClient)).resolves.toBe(
+      Workflow.MANAGED
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('treats tracked gitignored native projects as generic when requireCommit is true', async () => {
+    const vcsClient = new GitClient({
+      requireCommit: true,
+      maybeCwdOverride: repoRoot,
+    });
+
+    await fs.mkdir(path.join(repoRoot, 'ios', 'app.xcodeproj'), { recursive: true });
+    await fs.writeFile(path.join(repoRoot, 'ios', 'app.xcodeproj', 'project.pbxproj'), 'fake');
+    await fs.writeFile(path.join(repoRoot, '.gitignore'), 'ios/\n');
+
+    await spawnAsync('git', ['add', '.gitignore'], { cwd: repoRoot });
+    await spawnAsync('git', ['add', '-f', 'ios/app.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj'], { cwd: repoRoot });
+    await spawnAsync('git', ['commit', '-m', 'test setup'], { cwd: repoRoot });
+
+    await expect(resolveWorkflowAsync(repoRoot, Platform.IOS, vcsClient)).resolves.toBe(
+      Workflow.GENERIC
+    );
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/eas-cli/src/vcs/clients/__tests__/git.test.ts b/packages/eas-cli/src/vcs/clients/__tests__/git.test.ts
index 4e7fec8cdf..03322346a2 100644
--- a/packages/eas-cli/src/vcs/clients/__tests__/git.test.ts
+++ b/packages/eas-cli/src/vcs/clients/__tests__/git.test.ts
@@ -91,14 +91,14 @@ describe('git', () => {
           await fs.rm(`${repoRoot}/.gitignore`);
         });
 
-        it.each(testFiles.filter(file => file.gitignore && !file.commit))(
+        it.each(testFiles.filter(file => file.gitignore))(
           '$filename should be ignored',
           async file => {
             expect(await vcs.isFileIgnoredAsync(file.filename)).toBe(true);
           }
         );
 
-        it.each(testFiles.filter(file => !file.gitignore || file.commit))(
+        it.each(testFiles.filter(file => !file.gitignore))(
           '$filename should not be ignored',
           async file => {
             expect(await vcs.isFileIgnoredAsync(file.filename)).toBe(false);
diff --git a/packages/eas-cli/src/vcs/clients/git.ts b/packages/eas-cli/src/vcs/clients/git.ts
index ffb8140660..4ece6f6a1e 100644
--- a/packages/eas-cli/src/vcs/clients/git.ts
+++ b/packages/eas-cli/src/vcs/clients/git.ts
@@ -376,12 +376,18 @@ export default class GitClient extends Client {
       return wouldNotBeCopiedToClone && (!isTracked || wouldBeDeletedFromClone);
     }
 
-    if (isTracked) {
-      return false; // Tracked files aren't ignored even if they match ignore patterns
+    if (isTracked && this.requireCommit) {
+      // With requireCommit=true we rely on a Git checkout, so tracked files are included
+      // even if they match ignore patterns.
+      return false;
     }
 
     try {
-      await spawnAsync('git', ['check-ignore', '-q', filePath], { cwd: rootPath });
+      await spawnAsync(
+        'git',
+        ['check-ignore', '-q', ...(this.requireCommit ? [] : ['--no-index']), filePath],
+        { cwd: rootPath }
+      );
       return true;
     } catch {
       return false;