Re: Retrospectively add alternates to a repository?

From: Jeff King <peff@peff.net>
Date: Feb 27, 2010, 08:34 UTC
Message-ID: <20100227083418.GC27191@coredump.intra.peff.net>
In-Reply-To: <be6fef0d1002261837g794e8df2yc92261d46f3235bd@mail.gmail.com>

On Sat, Feb 27, 2010 at 10:37:25AM +0800, Tay Ray Chuan wrote:

> yes, just make sure the objects/info/alternates file points to the
> location of that cloned repo's object directory; for example:
> 
>   $ echo /path/to/cloned/repo/.git/objects > .git/objects/info/alternates

You will probably want to then get rid of anything in the child that is now available in the alternates repository.

I would have thought "git repack -adl" works, but I think there is something a little funny in the logic. It reports "nothing new to pack", but does not delete the loose objects. But packing first then worked:

  $ git clone large-parent child
  $ echo $PWD/large-parent/.git/objects >child/.git/objects/info/alternates
  $ cd child

  $ du -sh .git/objects
  51M     .git/objects

  $ git repack -adl && du -sh .git/objects
  Nothing new to pack.
  51M     .git/objects

  $ git repack -ad && du -sh .git/objects
  Counting objects: 3, done.
  Delta compression using up to 2 threads.
  Compressing objects: 100% (2/2), done.
  Writing objects: 100% (3/3), done.
  Total 3 (delta 0), reused 0 (delta 0)
  51M     .git/objects

  $ git repack -adl && du -sh .git/objects
  Nothing new to pack.
  20K     .git/objects

-Peff