From: Junio C Hamano Date: Tue, 09 Jun 2020 05:07:36 GMT Subject: Re: [PATCH v2] gc: recommend `git gc --prune=now` instead of `git prune` Message-ID: In-Reply-To: "John Lin via GitGitGadget" writes: > From: John Lin > > `git prune` is a plumbing command and should not be run directly by > users. The corresponding porcelain command is `git gc`, which is > mentioned in the man page of `git prune`. Much better than v1 that came without any justification ;-) I however wouldn't say "should not"---that feels a bit too strong (I personally use "prune" from the command line once or twice every week and do not see why I should be forbidden from doing so [*1*]), but the users who see this message would not need such a precise control afforded by use of "git prune", so "gc --prune=now" is a better recommendation. Thanks. [Footnote] *1* The command does not even produce a machine readable output. The reason it is not recommended (but that is different from "should not") to casual users over "git gc" is because it is a very focused tool (it is only about removing loose objects and does not touch other things) and applicable to a very specific condition. Those who can recognize that they are in that situation should not be forbidden from using it with a dogmatic "should not".