Re: Trying to use git-filter-branch to compress history by removing large, obsolete binary files

From: Johannes Schindelin <johannes.schindelin@gmx.de>
Date: Oct 8, 2007, 00:34 UTC
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.64.0710080129480.4174@racer.site>
In-Reply-To: <51419b2c0710071638p6dcc0c7cm2a813c22758e6f32@mail.gmail.com>

Hi,

On Sun, 7 Oct 2007, Elijah Newren wrote:

Show 21 quoted lines

> On 10/7/07, Johannes Schindelin <Johannes.Schindelin@gmx.de> wrote:
> > On Sun, 7 Oct 2007, Elijah Newren wrote:
> <snip>
> > > $ git clone test test2
> > > <snip>
> > > $ du -hs test
> > > 11M     test
> > > $ du -hs test2
> > > 11M     test2
> > >
> > > Any other ideas?
> >
> > Yep.  Maybe it is necessary to run "git gc" in test2.
> 
> Sweet, finally solved!  That brings test2 down to 340K.
> 
> However, the solution seems somewhat involved...it requires running 
> git-filter-branch, git reset, removing the .git/refs/original/ 
> directory, editing .git/packed-refs in some editor, running git reflog 
> expire, cloning the resulting repository, and running git gc yet again.  
> It seems like there has to be an easier way.  (Anyone have one?)

It should be as easy as git filter-branch and git clone.

> Oh, and git-filter-branch could really use some explanatory note about 
> how to actually complete rewriting the history.

It does what it should do. It is _your_ task to look at refs/original/* if everything went alright. Then you just delete the checked refs.

What made your case so cumbersome was that you wanted the big objects out _now_, instead of having them in for a grace period. BTW this grace period is in place to help _you_, not the program. (In case you fscked up and need those objects back.)

Ciao, Dscho