Re: Slow git pack-refs --all

> On Thu, Dec 25, 2025 at 11:38:30PM +0000, brian m. carlson wrote:
> 
> > I think this is from `should_pack_ref`:
> > 
> >     /* Do not pack broken refs: */
> >     if (!ref_resolves_to_object(ref->name, refs->base.repo, ref->oid, ref->flags))
> >     	return 0;
> > 
> > So Git is going to need to verify that the object at least exists.  I
> > don't know why we would need to _open_ them, however.  Perhaps someone
> > else has ideas.
> 
> The packed-refs file stores tag-peeling information. So pack-refs opens
> the object for any newly written ref via peel_object(), which has to at
> least read the header to get the type. That call happens via
> write_with_updates() in packed-backend.c.
> 
>   If we wanted to be really pedantic, anything in refs/heads/ should not
>   point to a non-commit and thus should never need to be peeled. I'm not
>   sure if we want to embed that assumption in this code path, though
>   (nor would it necessarily help Martin's case if the refs are not in
>   refs/heads anyway).