patch, 8 partsbuiltin/maintenance: introduce "geometric" strategy

diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index e19e13d9788..e9772eb3a30 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -55,7 +55,6 @@ static const char * const builtin_gc_usage[] = {
 };
 
 static timestamp_t gc_log_expire_time;
-static struct strvec repack = STRVEC_INIT;
 static struct tempfile *pidfile;
 static struct lock_file log_lock;
 static struct string_list pack_garbage = STRING_LIST_INIT_DUP;
@@ -618,48 +617,50 @@ static uint64_t estimate_repack_memory(struct gc_config *cfg,
 	return os_cache + heap;
 }
 
-static int keep_one_pack(struct string_list_item *item, void *data UNUSED)
+static int keep_one_pack(struct string_list_item *item, void *data)
 {
-	strvec_pushf(&repack, "--keep-pack=%s", basename(item->string));
+	struct strvec *args = data;
+	strvec_pushf(args, "--keep-pack=%s", basename(item->string));
 	return 0;
 }
 
 static void add_repack_all_option(struct gc_config *cfg,
-				  struct string_list *keep_pack)
+				  struct string_list *keep_pack,
+				  struct strvec *args)
 {
 	if (cfg->prune_expire && !strcmp(cfg->prune_expire, "now")
 		&& !(cfg->cruft_packs && cfg->repack_expire_to))
-		strvec_push(&repack, "-a");
+		strvec_push(args, "-a");
 	else if (cfg->cruft_packs) {
-		strvec_push(&repack, "--cruft");
+		strvec_push(args, "--cruft");
 		if (cfg->prune_expire)
-			strvec_pushf(&repack, "--cruft-expiration=%s", cfg->prune_expire);
+			strvec_pushf(args, "--cruft-expiration=%s", cfg->prune_expire);
 		if (cfg->max_cruft_size)
-			strvec_pushf(&repack, "--max-cruft-size=%lu",
+			strvec_pushf(args, "--max-cruft-size=%lu",
 				     cfg->max_cruft_size);
 		if (cfg->repack_expire_to)
-			strvec_pushf(&repack, "--expire-to=%s", cfg->repack_expire_to);
+			strvec_pushf(args, "--expire-to=%s", cfg->repack_expire_to);
 	} else {
-		strvec_push(&repack, "-A");
+		strvec_push(args, "-A");
 		if (cfg->prune_expire)
-			strvec_pushf(&repack, "--unpack-unreachable=%s", cfg->prune_expire);
+			strvec_pushf(args, "--unpack-unreachable=%s", cfg->prune_expire);
 	}
 
 	if (keep_pack)
-		for_each_string_list(keep_pack, keep_one_pack, NULL);
+		for_each_string_list(keep_pack, keep_one_pack, args);
 
 	if (cfg->repack_filter && *cfg->repack_filter)
-		strvec_pushf(&repack, "--filter=%s", cfg->repack_filter);
+		strvec_pushf(args, "--filter=%s", cfg->repack_filter);
 	if (cfg->repack_filter_to && *cfg->repack_filter_to)
-		strvec_pushf(&repack, "--filter-to=%s", cfg->repack_filter_to);
+		strvec_pushf(args, "--filter-to=%s", cfg->repack_filter_to);
 }
 
-static void add_repack_incremental_option(void)
+static void add_repack_incremental_option(struct strvec *args)
 {
-	strvec_push(&repack, "--no-write-bitmap-index");
+	strvec_push(args, "--no-write-bitmap-index");
 }
 
-static int need_to_gc(struct gc_config *cfg)
+static int need_to_gc(struct gc_config *cfg, struct strvec *repack_args)
 {
 	/*
 	 * Setting gc.auto to 0 or negative can disable the
@@ -700,10 +701,10 @@ static int need_to_gc(struct gc_config *cfg)
 				string_list_clear(&keep_pack, 0);
 		}
 
-		add_repack_all_option(cfg, &keep_pack);
+		add_repack_all_option(cfg, &keep_pack, repack_args);
 		string_list_clear(&keep_pack, 0);
 	} else if (too_many_loose_objects(cfg))
-		add_repack_incremental_option();
+		add_repack_incremental_option(repack_args);
 	else
 		return 0;
 
@@ -852,6 +853,7 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 	int keep_largest_pack = -1;
 	int skip_foreground_tasks = 0;
 	timestamp_t dummy;
+	struct strvec repack_args = STRVEC_INIT;
 	struct maintenance_run_opts opts = MAINTENANCE_RUN_OPTS_INIT;
 	struct gc_config cfg = GC_CONFIG_INIT;
 	const char *prune_expire_sentinel = "sentinel";
@@ -891,7 +893,7 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 	show_usage_with_options_if_asked(argc, argv,
 					 builtin_gc_usage, builtin_gc_options);
 
-	strvec_pushl(&repack, "repack", "-d", "-l", NULL);
+	strvec_pushl(&repack_args, "repack", "-d", "-l", NULL);
 
 	gc_config(&cfg);
 
@@ -914,14 +916,14 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 		die(_("failed to parse prune expiry value %s"), cfg.prune_expire);
 
 	if (aggressive) {
-		strvec_push(&repack, "-f");
+		strvec_push(&repack_args, "-f");
 		if (cfg.aggressive_depth > 0)
-			strvec_pushf(&repack, "--depth=%d", cfg.aggressive_depth);
+			strvec_pushf(&repack_args, "--depth=%d", cfg.aggressive_depth);
 		if (cfg.aggressive_window > 0)
-			strvec_pushf(&repack, "--window=%d", cfg.aggressive_window);
+			strvec_pushf(&repack_args, "--window=%d", cfg.aggressive_window);
 	}
 	if (opts.quiet)
-		strvec_push(&repack, "-q");
+		strvec_push(&repack_args, "-q");
 
 	if (opts.auto_flag) {
 		if (cfg.detach_auto && opts.detach < 0)
@@ -930,7 +932,7 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 		/*
 		 * Auto-gc should be least intrusive as possible.
 		 */
-		if (!need_to_gc(&cfg)) {
+		if (!need_to_gc(&cfg, &repack_args)) {
 			ret = 0;
 			goto out;
 		}
@@ -952,7 +954,7 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 			find_base_packs(&keep_pack, cfg.big_pack_threshold);
 		}
 
-		add_repack_all_option(&cfg, &keep_pack);
+		add_repack_all_option(&cfg, &keep_pack, &repack_args);
 		string_list_clear(&keep_pack, 0);
 	}
 
@@ -1014,9 +1016,9 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 
 		repack_cmd.git_cmd = 1;
 		repack_cmd.close_object_store = 1;
-		strvec_pushv(&repack_cmd.args, repack.v);
+		strvec_pushv(&repack_cmd.args, repack_args.v);
 		if (run_command(&repack_cmd))
-			die(FAILED_RUN, repack.v[0]);
+			die(FAILED_RUN, repack_args.v[0]);
 
 		if (cfg.prune_expire) {
 			struct child_process prune_cmd = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
@@ -1067,6 +1069,7 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 
 out:
 	maintenance_run_opts_release(&opts);
+	strvec_clear(&repack_args);
 	gc_config_release(&cfg);
 	return 0;
 }
@@ -1269,6 +1272,19 @@ static int maintenance_task_gc_background(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 	return run_command(&child);
 }
 
+static int gc_condition(struct gc_config *cfg)
+{
+	/*
+	 * Note that it's fine to drop the repack arguments here, as we execute
+	 * git-gc(1) as a separate child process anyway. So it knows to compute
+	 * these arguments again.
+	 */
+	struct strvec repack_args = STRVEC_INIT;
+	int ret = need_to_gc(cfg, &repack_args);
+	strvec_clear(&repack_args);
+	return ret;
+}
+
 static int prune_packed(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts)
 {
 	struct child_process child = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
@@ -1596,7 +1612,7 @@ static const struct maintenance_task tasks[] = {
 		.name = "gc",
 		.foreground = maintenance_task_gc_foreground,
 		.background = maintenance_task_gc_background,
-		.auto_condition = need_to_gc,
+		.auto_condition = gc_condition,
 	},
 	[TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH] = {
 		.name = "commit-graph",

diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index e9772eb3a30..026d3a1d714 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -447,7 +447,7 @@ static int rerere_gc_condition(struct gc_config *cfg UNUSED)
 	return should_gc;
 }
 
-static int too_many_loose_objects(struct gc_config *cfg)
+static int too_many_loose_objects(int limit)
 {
 	/*
 	 * Quickly check if a "gc" is needed, by estimating how
@@ -469,7 +469,7 @@ static int too_many_loose_objects(struct gc_config *cfg)
 	if (!dir)
 		return 0;
 
-	auto_threshold = DIV_ROUND_UP(cfg->gc_auto_threshold, 256);
+	auto_threshold = DIV_ROUND_UP(limit, 256);
 	while ((ent = readdir(dir)) != NULL) {
 		if (strspn(ent->d_name, "0123456789abcdef") != hexsz_loose ||
 		    ent->d_name[hexsz_loose] != '\0')
@@ -703,7 +703,7 @@ static int need_to_gc(struct gc_config *cfg, struct strvec *repack_args)
 
 		add_repack_all_option(cfg, &keep_pack, repack_args);
 		string_list_clear(&keep_pack, 0);
-	} else if (too_many_loose_objects(cfg))
+	} else if (too_many_loose_objects(cfg->gc_auto_threshold))
 		add_repack_incremental_option(repack_args);
 	else
 		return 0;
@@ -1057,7 +1057,7 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 					     !opts.quiet && !daemonized ? COMMIT_GRAPH_WRITE_PROGRESS : 0,
 					     NULL);
 
-	if (opts.auto_flag && too_many_loose_objects(&cfg))
+	if (opts.auto_flag && too_many_loose_objects(cfg.gc_auto_threshold))
 		warning(_("There are too many unreachable loose objects; "
 			"run 'git prune' to remove them."));
 

Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc, builtin/gc.c, t/t7900-maintenance.sh

diff --git a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
index 2f719342183..26dc5de423f 100644
--- a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
@@ -75,6 +75,17 @@ maintenance.incremental-repack.auto::
 	number of pack-files not in the multi-pack-index is at least the value
 	of `maintenance.incremental-repack.auto`. The default value is 10.
 
+maintenance.geometric-repack.auto::
+	This integer config option controls how often the `geometric-repack`
+	task should be run as part of `git maintenance run --auto`. If zero,
+	then the `geometric-repack` task will not run with the `--auto`
+	option. A negative value will force the task to run every time.
+	Otherwise, a positive value implies the command should run either when
+	there are packfiles that need to be merged together to retain the
+	geometric progression, or when there are at least this many loose
+	objects that would be written into a new packfile. The default value is
+	100.
+
 maintenance.reflog-expire.auto::
 	This integer config option controls how often the `reflog-expire` task
 	should be run as part of `git maintenance run --auto`. If zero, then
diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index 026d3a1d714..2c9ecd464d2 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@
 #include "pack-objects.h"
 #include "path.h"
 #include "reflog.h"
+#include "repack.h"
 #include "rerere.h"
 #include "blob.h"
 #include "tree.h"
@@ -254,6 +255,7 @@ enum maintenance_task_label {
 	TASK_PREFETCH,
 	TASK_LOOSE_OBJECTS,
 	TASK_INCREMENTAL_REPACK,
+	TASK_GEOMETRIC_REPACK,
 	TASK_GC,
 	TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH,
 	TASK_PACK_REFS,
@@ -1566,6 +1568,101 @@ static int maintenance_task_incremental_repack(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts
 	return 0;
 }
 
+static int maintenance_task_geometric_repack(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
+					     struct gc_config *cfg)
+{
+	struct pack_geometry geometry = {
+		.split_factor = 2,
+	};
+	struct pack_objects_args po_args = {
+		.local = 1,
+	};
+	struct existing_packs existing_packs = EXISTING_PACKS_INIT;
+	struct string_list kept_packs = STRING_LIST_INIT_DUP;
+	struct child_process child = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
+	int ret;
+
+	existing_packs.repo = the_repository;
+	existing_packs_collect(&existing_packs, &kept_packs);
+	pack_geometry_init(&geometry, &existing_packs, &po_args);
+	pack_geometry_split(&geometry);
+
+	child.git_cmd = 1;
+
+	strvec_pushl(&child.args, "repack", "-d", "-l", NULL);
+	if (geometry.split < geometry.pack_nr)
+		strvec_push(&child.args, "--geometric=2");
+	else
+		add_repack_all_option(cfg, NULL, &child.args);
+	if (opts->quiet)
+		strvec_push(&child.args, "--quiet");
+	if (the_repository->settings.core_multi_pack_index)
+		strvec_push(&child.args, "--write-midx");
+
+	if (run_command(&child)) {
+		ret = error(_("failed to perform geometric repack"));
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	ret = 0;
+
+out:
+	existing_packs_release(&existing_packs);
+	pack_geometry_release(&geometry);
+	return ret;
+}
+
+static int geometric_repack_auto_condition(struct gc_config *cfg UNUSED)
+{
+	struct pack_geometry geometry = {
+		.split_factor = 2,
+	};
+	struct pack_objects_args po_args = {
+		.local = 1,
+	};
+	struct existing_packs existing_packs = EXISTING_PACKS_INIT;
+	struct string_list kept_packs = STRING_LIST_INIT_DUP;
+	int auto_value = 100;
+	int ret;
+
+	repo_config_get_int(the_repository, "maintenance.geometric-repack.auto",
+			    &auto_value);
+	if (!auto_value)
+		return 0;
+	if (auto_value < 0)
+		return 1;
+
+	existing_packs.repo = the_repository;
+	existing_packs_collect(&existing_packs, &kept_packs);
+	pack_geometry_init(&geometry, &existing_packs, &po_args);
+	pack_geometry_split(&geometry);
+
+	/*
+	 * When we'd merge at least two packs with one another we always
+	 * perform the repack.
+	 */
+	if (geometry.split) {
+		ret = 1;
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	/*
+	 * Otherwise, we estimate the number of loose objects to determine
+	 * whether we want to create a new packfile or not.
+	 */
+	if (too_many_loose_objects(auto_value)) {
+		ret = 1;
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	ret = 0;
+
+out:
+	existing_packs_release(&existing_packs);
+	pack_geometry_release(&geometry);
+	return ret;
+}
+
 typedef int (*maintenance_task_fn)(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 				   struct gc_config *cfg);
 typedef int (*maintenance_auto_fn)(struct gc_config *cfg);
@@ -1608,6 +1705,11 @@ static const struct maintenance_task tasks[] = {
 		.background = maintenance_task_incremental_repack,
 		.auto_condition = incremental_repack_auto_condition,
 	},
+	[TASK_GEOMETRIC_REPACK] = {
+		.name = "geometric-repack",
+		.background = maintenance_task_geometric_repack,
+		.auto_condition = geometric_repack_auto_condition,
+	},
 	[TASK_GC] = {
 		.name = "gc",
 		.foreground = maintenance_task_gc_foreground,
diff --git a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
index ddd273d8dc2..83a373fe94b 100755
--- a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
+++ b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
@@ -465,6 +465,143 @@ test_expect_success 'maintenance.incremental-repack.auto (when config is unset)'
 	)
 '
 
+run_and_verify_geometric_pack () {
+	EXPECTED_PACKS="$1" &&
+
+	# Verify that we perform a geometric repack.
+	rm -f "trace2.txt" &&
+	GIT_TRACE2_EVENT="$(pwd)/trace2.txt" \
+		git maintenance run --task=geometric-repack 2>/dev/null &&
+	test_subcommand git repack -d -l --geometric=2 --quiet --write-midx <trace2.txt &&
+
+	# Verify that the number of packfiles matches our expectation.
+	ls -l .git/objects/pack/*.pack >packfiles &&
+	test_line_count = "$EXPECTED_PACKS" packfiles &&
+
+	# And verify that there are no loose objects anymore.
+	cat >expect <<-\EOF &&
+	info
+	pack
+	EOF
+	ls .git/objects >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+}
+
+test_expect_success 'geometric repacking task' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		git config set maintenance.auto false &&
+		test_commit initial &&
+
+		# The initial repack causes an all-into-one repack.
+		GIT_TRACE2_EVENT="$(pwd)/initial-repack.txt" \
+			git maintenance run --task=geometric-repack 2>/dev/null &&
+		test_subcommand git repack -d -l --cruft --cruft-expiration=2.weeks.ago --quiet --write-midx <initial-repack.txt &&
+
+		# Repacking should now cause a no-op geometric repack because
+		# no packfiles need to be combined.
+		ls -l .git/objects/pack >before &&
+		run_and_verify_geometric_pack 1 &&
+		ls -l .git/objects/pack >after &&
+		test_cmp before after &&
+
+		# This incremental change creates a new packfile that only
+		# soaks up loose objects. The packfiles are not getting merged
+		# at this point.
+		test_commit loose &&
+		run_and_verify_geometric_pack 2 &&
+
+		# Both packfiles have 3 objects, so the next run would cause us
+		# to merge both packfiles together. This should be turned into
+		# an all-into-one-repack.
+		GIT_TRACE2_EVENT="$(pwd)/all-into-one-repack.txt" \
+			git maintenance run --task=geometric-repack 2>/dev/null &&
+		test_subcommand git repack -d -l --cruft --cruft-expiration=2.weeks.ago --quiet --write-midx <all-into-one-repack.txt &&
+
+		# The geometric repack soaks up unreachable objects.
+		echo blob-1 | git hash-object -w --stdin -t blob &&
+		run_and_verify_geometric_pack 2 &&
+
+		# A second unreachable object should be written into another packfile.
+		echo blob-2 | git hash-object -w --stdin -t blob &&
+		run_and_verify_geometric_pack 3 &&
+
+		# And these two small packs should now be merged via the
+		# geometric repack. The large packfile should remain intact.
+		run_and_verify_geometric_pack 2 &&
+
+		# If we now add two more objects and repack twice we should
+		# then see another all-into-one repack. This time around
+		# though, as we have unreachable objects, we should also see a
+		# cruft pack.
+		echo blob-3 | git hash-object -w --stdin -t blob &&
+		echo blob-4 | git hash-object -w --stdin -t blob &&
+		run_and_verify_geometric_pack 3 &&
+		GIT_TRACE2_EVENT="$(pwd)/cruft-repack.txt" \
+			git maintenance run --task=geometric-repack 2>/dev/null &&
+		test_subcommand git repack -d -l --cruft --cruft-expiration=2.weeks.ago --quiet --write-midx <cruft-repack.txt &&
+		ls .git/objects/pack/*.pack >packs &&
+		test_line_count = 2 packs &&
+		ls .git/objects/pack/*.mtimes >cruft &&
+		test_line_count = 1 cruft
+	)
+'
+
+test_geometric_repack_needed () {
+	NEEDED="$1"
+	AUTO_LIMIT="$2" &&
+	rm -f trace2.txt &&
+	GIT_TRACE2_EVENT="$(pwd)/trace2.txt" \
+		git ${AUTO_LIMIT:+-c maintenance.geometric-repack.auto=$AUTO_LIMIT} maintenance run --auto --task=geometric-repack &&
+	case "$NEEDED" in
+	true)
+		test_grep "\[\"git\",\"repack\"," trace2.txt;;
+	false)
+		! test_grep "\[\"git\",\"repack\"," trace2.txt;;
+	*)
+		BUG "invalid parameter: $NEEDED";;
+	esac
+}
+
+test_expect_success 'geometric repacking with --auto' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+
+		# An empty repository does not need repacking, except when
+		# explicitly told to do it.
+		test_geometric_repack_needed false &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed false 0 &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed false 1 &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed true -1 &&
+
+		test_oid_init &&
+
+		# Loose objects cause a repack when crossing the limit. Note
+		# that the number of objects gets extrapolated by having a look
+		# at the "objects/17/" shard.
+		test_commit "$(test_oid blob17_1)" &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed false &&
+		test_commit "$(test_oid blob17_2)" &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed false 257 &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed true 256 &&
+
+		# Force another repack.
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed true -1 &&
+
+		# We now have two packfiles that would be merged together. As
+		# such, the repack should always happen unless the user has
+		# disabled the auto task.
+		test_geometric_repack_needed false 0 &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed true 9000
+	)
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'pack-refs task' '
 	for n in $(test_seq 1 5)
 	do

builtin/gc.c, t/t7900-maintenance.sh

diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index 2c9ecd464d2..e358e8d13b4 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -1848,6 +1848,13 @@ static const struct maintenance_strategy incremental_strategy = {
 	},
 };
 
+static struct maintenance_strategy parse_maintenance_strategy(const char *name)
+{
+	if (!strcasecmp(name, "incremental"))
+		return incremental_strategy;
+	die(_("unknown maintenance strategy: '%s'"), name);
+}
+
 static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 				   const struct string_list *selected_tasks)
 {
@@ -1883,12 +1890,10 @@ static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 	 * override specific aspects of our strategy.
 	 */
 	if (opts->schedule) {
-		strategy = none_strategy;
-
-		if (!repo_config_get_string_tmp(the_repository, "maintenance.strategy", &config_str)) {
-			if (!strcasecmp(config_str, "incremental"))
-				strategy = incremental_strategy;
-		}
+		if (!repo_config_get_string_tmp(the_repository, "maintenance.strategy", &config_str))
+			strategy = parse_maintenance_strategy(config_str);
+		else
+			strategy = none_strategy;
 	} else {
 		strategy = default_strategy;
 	}
diff --git a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
index 83a373fe94b..45334f7ad3a 100755
--- a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
+++ b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
@@ -1230,6 +1230,11 @@ test_expect_success 'fails when running outside of a repository' '
 	nongit test_must_fail git maintenance unregister
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'fails when configured to use an invalid strategy' '
+	test_must_fail git -c maintenance.strategy=invalid maintenance run --schedule=hourly 2>err &&
+	test_grep "unknown maintenance strategy: .invalid." err
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'register and unregister bare repo' '
 	test_when_finished "git config --global --unset-all maintenance.repo || :" &&
 	test_might_fail git config --global --unset-all maintenance.repo &&

diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index e358e8d13b4..4f70650e7ac 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -1820,30 +1820,39 @@ static int maintenance_run_tasks(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 	return result;
 }
 
+enum maintenance_type {
+	/* As invoked via `git maintenance run --schedule=`. */
+	MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED = (1 << 0),
+	/* As invoked via `git maintenance run` and with `--auto`. */
+	MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL    = (1 << 1),
+};
+
 struct maintenance_strategy {
 	struct {
-		int enabled;
+		unsigned type;
 		enum schedule_priority schedule;
 	} tasks[TASK__COUNT];
 };
 
 static const struct maintenance_strategy none_strategy = { 0 };
+
 static const struct maintenance_strategy default_strategy = {
 	.tasks = {
-		[TASK_GC].enabled = 1,
+		[TASK_GC].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
 	},
 };
+
 static const struct maintenance_strategy incremental_strategy = {
 	.tasks = {
-		[TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH].enabled = 1,
+		[TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
 		[TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH].schedule = SCHEDULE_HOURLY,
-		[TASK_PREFETCH].enabled = 1,
+		[TASK_PREFETCH].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
 		[TASK_PREFETCH].schedule = SCHEDULE_HOURLY,
-		[TASK_INCREMENTAL_REPACK].enabled = 1,
+		[TASK_INCREMENTAL_REPACK].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
 		[TASK_INCREMENTAL_REPACK].schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
-		[TASK_LOOSE_OBJECTS].enabled = 1,
+		[TASK_LOOSE_OBJECTS].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
 		[TASK_LOOSE_OBJECTS].schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
-		[TASK_PACK_REFS].enabled = 1,
+		[TASK_PACK_REFS].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
 		[TASK_PACK_REFS].schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
 	},
 };
@@ -1860,6 +1869,7 @@ static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 {
 	struct strbuf config_name = STRBUF_INIT;
 	struct maintenance_strategy strategy;
+	enum maintenance_type type;
 	const char *config_str;
 
 	/*
@@ -1894,8 +1904,10 @@ static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 			strategy = parse_maintenance_strategy(config_str);
 		else
 			strategy = none_strategy;
+		type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED;
 	} else {
 		strategy = default_strategy;
+		type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL;
 	}
 
 	for (size_t i = 0; i < TASK__COUNT; i++) {
@@ -1905,8 +1917,8 @@ static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 		strbuf_addf(&config_name, "maintenance.%s.enabled",
 			    tasks[i].name);
 		if (!repo_config_get_bool(the_repository, config_name.buf, &config_value))
-			strategy.tasks[i].enabled = config_value;
-		if (!strategy.tasks[i].enabled)
+			strategy.tasks[i].type = config_value ? type : 0;
+		if (!(strategy.tasks[i].type & type))
 			continue;
 
 		if (opts->schedule) {

Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc, builtin/gc.c, t/t7900-maintenance.sh

diff --git a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
index 26dc5de423f..dc6fd9b7fda 100644
--- a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
@@ -16,19 +16,25 @@ detach.
 
 maintenance.strategy::
 	This string config option provides a way to specify one of a few
-	recommended schedules for background maintenance. This only affects
-	which tasks are run during `git maintenance run --schedule=X`
-	commands, provided no `--task=<task>` arguments are provided.
-	Further, if a `maintenance.<task>.schedule` config value is set,
-	then that value is used instead of the one provided by
-	`maintenance.strategy`. The possible strategy strings are:
+	recommended strategies for repository maintenance. This affects
+	which tasks are run during `git maintenance run`, provided no
+	`--task=<task>` arguments are provided. This setting impacts manual
+	maintenance, auto-maintenance as well as scheduled maintenance. The
+	tasks that run may be different depending on the maintenance type.
 +
-* `none`: This default setting implies no tasks are run at any schedule.
+The maintenance strategy can be further tweaked by setting
+`maintenance.<task>.enabled` and `maintenance.<task>.schedule`. If set, these
+values are used instead of the defaults provided by `maintenance.strategy`.
++
+The possible strategies are:
++
+* `none`: This strategy implies no tasks are run at all. This is the default
+  strategy for scheduled maintenance.
 * `incremental`: This setting optimizes for performing small maintenance
   activities that do not delete any data. This does not schedule the `gc`
   task, but runs the `prefetch` and `commit-graph` tasks hourly, the
   `loose-objects` and `incremental-repack` tasks daily, and the `pack-refs`
-  task weekly.
+  task weekly. Manual repository maintenance uses the `gc` task.
 
 maintenance.<task>.enabled::
 	This boolean config option controls whether the maintenance task
diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index 4f70650e7ac..971d557d370 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -1854,6 +1854,19 @@ static const struct maintenance_strategy incremental_strategy = {
 		[TASK_LOOSE_OBJECTS].schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
 		[TASK_PACK_REFS].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
 		[TASK_PACK_REFS].schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
+
+		/*
+		 * Historically, the "incremental" strategy was only available
+		 * in the context of scheduled maintenance when set up via
+		 * "maintenance.strategy". We have later expanded that config
+		 * to also cover manual maintenance.
+		 *
+		 * To retain backwards compatibility with the previous status
+		 * quo we thus run git-gc(1) in case manual maintenance was
+		 * requested. This is the same as the default strategy, which
+		 * would have been in use beforehand.
+		 */
+		[TASK_GC].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
 	},
 };
 
@@ -1897,19 +1910,20 @@ static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 	 *   - Unscheduled maintenance uses our default strategy.
 	 *
 	 * Both of these are affected by the gitconfig though, which may
-	 * override specific aspects of our strategy.
+	 * override specific aspects of our strategy. Furthermore, both
+	 * strategies can be overridden by setting "maintenance.strategy".
 	 */
 	if (opts->schedule) {
-		if (!repo_config_get_string_tmp(the_repository, "maintenance.strategy", &config_str))
-			strategy = parse_maintenance_strategy(config_str);
-		else
-			strategy = none_strategy;
+		strategy = none_strategy;
 		type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED;
 	} else {
 		strategy = default_strategy;
 		type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL;
 	}
 
+	if (!repo_config_get_string_tmp(the_repository, "maintenance.strategy", &config_str))
+		strategy = parse_maintenance_strategy(config_str);
+
 	for (size_t i = 0; i < TASK__COUNT; i++) {
 		int config_value;
 
diff --git a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
index 45334f7ad3a..439f1bfba0c 100755
--- a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
+++ b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
@@ -853,6 +853,46 @@ test_expect_success 'maintenance.strategy inheritance' '
 		<modified-daily.txt
 '
 
+test_strategy () {
+	STRATEGY="$1"
+	shift
+
+	cat >expect &&
+	rm -f trace2.txt &&
+	GIT_TRACE2_EVENT="$(pwd)/trace2.txt" \
+		git -c maintenance.strategy=$STRATEGY maintenance run --quiet "$@" &&
+	sed -n 's/{"event":"child_start","sid":"[^/"]*",.*,"argv":\["\(.*\)\"]}/\1/p' <trace2.txt |
+		sed 's/","/ /g'  >actual
+	test_cmp expect actual
+}
+
+test_expect_success 'maintenance.strategy is respected' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit initial &&
+
+		test_must_fail git -c maintenance.strategy=unknown maintenance run 2>err &&
+		test_grep "unknown maintenance strategy: .unknown." err &&
+
+		test_strategy incremental <<-\EOF &&
+		git pack-refs --all --prune
+		git reflog expire --all
+		git gc --quiet --no-detach --skip-foreground-tasks
+		EOF
+
+		test_strategy incremental --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF
+		git pack-refs --all --prune
+		git prune-packed --quiet
+		git multi-pack-index write --no-progress
+		git multi-pack-index expire --no-progress
+		git multi-pack-index repack --no-progress --batch-size=1
+		git commit-graph write --split --reachable --no-progress
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'register and unregister' '
 	test_when_finished git config --global --unset-all maintenance.repo &&
 

Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc, builtin/gc.c, t/t7900-maintenance.sh

diff --git a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
index dc6fd9b7fda..648b6db47c6 100644
--- a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@ The possible strategies are:
 +
 * `none`: This strategy implies no tasks are run at all. This is the default
   strategy for scheduled maintenance.
+* `gc`: This strategy runs the `gc` task. This is the default strategy for
+  manual maintenance.
 * `incremental`: This setting optimizes for performing small maintenance
   activities that do not delete any data. This does not schedule the `gc`
   task, but runs the `prefetch` and `commit-graph` tasks hourly, the
diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index 971d557d370..3673f3db630 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -1836,9 +1836,10 @@ struct maintenance_strategy {
 
 static const struct maintenance_strategy none_strategy = { 0 };
 
-static const struct maintenance_strategy default_strategy = {
+static const struct maintenance_strategy gc_strategy = {
 	.tasks = {
-		[TASK_GC].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+		[TASK_GC].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
+		[TASK_GC].schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
 	},
 };
 
@@ -1874,6 +1875,8 @@ static struct maintenance_strategy parse_maintenance_strategy(const char *name)
 {
 	if (!strcasecmp(name, "incremental"))
 		return incremental_strategy;
+	if (!strcasecmp(name, "gc"))
+		return gc_strategy;
 	die(_("unknown maintenance strategy: '%s'"), name);
 }
 
@@ -1917,7 +1920,7 @@ static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 		strategy = none_strategy;
 		type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED;
 	} else {
-		strategy = default_strategy;
+		strategy = gc_strategy;
 		type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL;
 	}
 
diff --git a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
index 439f1bfba0c..1acd701830e 100755
--- a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
+++ b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
@@ -882,7 +882,7 @@ test_expect_success 'maintenance.strategy is respected' '
 		git gc --quiet --no-detach --skip-foreground-tasks
 		EOF
 
-		test_strategy incremental --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF
+		test_strategy incremental --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF &&
 		git pack-refs --all --prune
 		git prune-packed --quiet
 		git multi-pack-index write --no-progress
@@ -890,6 +890,18 @@ test_expect_success 'maintenance.strategy is respected' '
 		git multi-pack-index repack --no-progress --batch-size=1
 		git commit-graph write --split --reachable --no-progress
 		EOF
+
+		test_strategy gc <<-\EOF &&
+		git pack-refs --all --prune
+		git reflog expire --all
+		git gc --quiet --no-detach --skip-foreground-tasks
+		EOF
+
+		test_strategy gc --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF
+		git pack-refs --all --prune
+		git reflog expire --all
+		git gc --quiet --no-detach --skip-foreground-tasks
+		EOF
 	)
 '
 

Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc, builtin/gc.c, t/t7900-maintenance.sh

diff --git a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
index 648b6db47c6..5ab88c2b328 100644
--- a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
@@ -32,6 +32,15 @@ The possible strategies are:
   strategy for scheduled maintenance.
 * `gc`: This strategy runs the `gc` task. This is the default strategy for
   manual maintenance.
+* `geometric`: This strategy performs geometric repacking of packfiles and
+  keeps auxiliary data structures up-to-date. The strategy expires data in the
+  reflog and removes worktrees that cannot be located anymore. When the
+  geometric repacking strategy would decide to do an all-into-one repack, then
+  the strategy generates a cruft pack for all unreachable objects. Objects that
+  are already part of a cruft pack will be expired.
++
+This repacking strategy is a full replacement for the `gc` strategy and is
+recommended for large repositories.
 * `incremental`: This setting optimizes for performing small maintenance
   activities that do not delete any data. This does not schedule the `gc`
   task, but runs the `prefetch` and `commit-graph` tasks hourly, the
diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index 3673f3db630..bf603de8a2f 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -1871,12 +1871,31 @@ static const struct maintenance_strategy incremental_strategy = {
 	},
 };
 
+static const struct maintenance_strategy geometric_strategy = {
+	.tasks = {
+		[TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+		[TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH].schedule = SCHEDULE_HOURLY,
+		[TASK_GEOMETRIC_REPACK].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+		[TASK_GEOMETRIC_REPACK].schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
+		[TASK_PACK_REFS].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+		[TASK_PACK_REFS].schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
+		[TASK_RERERE_GC].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+		[TASK_RERERE_GC].schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
+		[TASK_REFLOG_EXPIRE].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+		[TASK_REFLOG_EXPIRE].schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
+		[TASK_WORKTREE_PRUNE].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+		[TASK_WORKTREE_PRUNE].schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
+	},
+};
+
 static struct maintenance_strategy parse_maintenance_strategy(const char *name)
 {
 	if (!strcasecmp(name, "incremental"))
 		return incremental_strategy;
 	if (!strcasecmp(name, "gc"))
 		return gc_strategy;
+	if (!strcasecmp(name, "geometric"))
+		return geometric_strategy;
 	die(_("unknown maintenance strategy: '%s'"), name);
 }
 
diff --git a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
index 1acd701830e..bb61b4d7f44 100755
--- a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
+++ b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
@@ -897,11 +897,29 @@ test_expect_success 'maintenance.strategy is respected' '
 		git gc --quiet --no-detach --skip-foreground-tasks
 		EOF
 
-		test_strategy gc --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF
+		test_strategy gc --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF &&
 		git pack-refs --all --prune
 		git reflog expire --all
 		git gc --quiet --no-detach --skip-foreground-tasks
 		EOF
+
+		test_strategy geometric <<-\EOF &&
+		git pack-refs --all --prune
+		git reflog expire --all
+		git repack -d -l --geometric=2 --quiet --write-midx
+		git commit-graph write --split --reachable --no-progress
+		git worktree prune --expire 3.months.ago
+		git rerere gc
+		EOF
+
+		test_strategy geometric --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF
+		git pack-refs --all --prune
+		git reflog expire --all
+		git repack -d -l --geometric=2 --quiet --write-midx
+		git commit-graph write --split --reachable --no-progress
+		git worktree prune --expire 3.months.ago
+		git rerere gc
+		EOF
 	)
 '
 

diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index e19e13d9788..e9772eb3a30 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -55,7 +55,6 @@ static const char * const builtin_gc_usage[] = {
 };
 
 static timestamp_t gc_log_expire_time;
-static struct strvec repack = STRVEC_INIT;
 static struct tempfile *pidfile;
 static struct lock_file log_lock;
 static struct string_list pack_garbage = STRING_LIST_INIT_DUP;
@@ -618,48 +617,50 @@ static uint64_t estimate_repack_memory(struct gc_config *cfg,
 	return os_cache + heap;
 }
 
-static int keep_one_pack(struct string_list_item *item, void *data UNUSED)
+static int keep_one_pack(struct string_list_item *item, void *data)
 {
-	strvec_pushf(&repack, "--keep-pack=%s", basename(item->string));
+	struct strvec *args = data;
+	strvec_pushf(args, "--keep-pack=%s", basename(item->string));
 	return 0;
 }
 
 static void add_repack_all_option(struct gc_config *cfg,
-				  struct string_list *keep_pack)
+				  struct string_list *keep_pack,
+				  struct strvec *args)
 {
 	if (cfg->prune_expire && !strcmp(cfg->prune_expire, "now")
 		&& !(cfg->cruft_packs && cfg->repack_expire_to))
-		strvec_push(&repack, "-a");
+		strvec_push(args, "-a");
 	else if (cfg->cruft_packs) {
-		strvec_push(&repack, "--cruft");
+		strvec_push(args, "--cruft");
 		if (cfg->prune_expire)
-			strvec_pushf(&repack, "--cruft-expiration=%s", cfg->prune_expire);
+			strvec_pushf(args, "--cruft-expiration=%s", cfg->prune_expire);
 		if (cfg->max_cruft_size)
-			strvec_pushf(&repack, "--max-cruft-size=%lu",
+			strvec_pushf(args, "--max-cruft-size=%lu",
 				     cfg->max_cruft_size);
 		if (cfg->repack_expire_to)
-			strvec_pushf(&repack, "--expire-to=%s", cfg->repack_expire_to);
+			strvec_pushf(args, "--expire-to=%s", cfg->repack_expire_to);
 	} else {
-		strvec_push(&repack, "-A");
+		strvec_push(args, "-A");
 		if (cfg->prune_expire)
-			strvec_pushf(&repack, "--unpack-unreachable=%s", cfg->prune_expire);
+			strvec_pushf(args, "--unpack-unreachable=%s", cfg->prune_expire);
 	}
 
 	if (keep_pack)
-		for_each_string_list(keep_pack, keep_one_pack, NULL);
+		for_each_string_list(keep_pack, keep_one_pack, args);
 
 	if (cfg->repack_filter && *cfg->repack_filter)
-		strvec_pushf(&repack, "--filter=%s", cfg->repack_filter);
+		strvec_pushf(args, "--filter=%s", cfg->repack_filter);
 	if (cfg->repack_filter_to && *cfg->repack_filter_to)
-		strvec_pushf(&repack, "--filter-to=%s", cfg->repack_filter_to);
+		strvec_pushf(args, "--filter-to=%s", cfg->repack_filter_to);
 }
 
-static void add_repack_incremental_option(void)
+static void add_repack_incremental_option(struct strvec *args)
 {
-	strvec_push(&repack, "--no-write-bitmap-index");
+	strvec_push(args, "--no-write-bitmap-index");
 }
 
-static int need_to_gc(struct gc_config *cfg)
+static int need_to_gc(struct gc_config *cfg, struct strvec *repack_args)
 {
 	/*
 	 * Setting gc.auto to 0 or negative can disable the
@@ -700,10 +701,10 @@ static int need_to_gc(struct gc_config *cfg)
 				string_list_clear(&keep_pack, 0);
 		}
 
-		add_repack_all_option(cfg, &keep_pack);
+		add_repack_all_option(cfg, &keep_pack, repack_args);
 		string_list_clear(&keep_pack, 0);
 	} else if (too_many_loose_objects(cfg))
-		add_repack_incremental_option();
+		add_repack_incremental_option(repack_args);
 	else
 		return 0;
 
@@ -852,6 +853,7 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 	int keep_largest_pack = -1;
 	int skip_foreground_tasks = 0;
 	timestamp_t dummy;
+	struct strvec repack_args = STRVEC_INIT;
 	struct maintenance_run_opts opts = MAINTENANCE_RUN_OPTS_INIT;
 	struct gc_config cfg = GC_CONFIG_INIT;
 	const char *prune_expire_sentinel = "sentinel";
@@ -891,7 +893,7 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 	show_usage_with_options_if_asked(argc, argv,
 					 builtin_gc_usage, builtin_gc_options);
 
-	strvec_pushl(&repack, "repack", "-d", "-l", NULL);
+	strvec_pushl(&repack_args, "repack", "-d", "-l", NULL);
 
 	gc_config(&cfg);
 
@@ -914,14 +916,14 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 		die(_("failed to parse prune expiry value %s"), cfg.prune_expire);
 
 	if (aggressive) {
-		strvec_push(&repack, "-f");
+		strvec_push(&repack_args, "-f");
 		if (cfg.aggressive_depth > 0)
-			strvec_pushf(&repack, "--depth=%d", cfg.aggressive_depth);
+			strvec_pushf(&repack_args, "--depth=%d", cfg.aggressive_depth);
 		if (cfg.aggressive_window > 0)
-			strvec_pushf(&repack, "--window=%d", cfg.aggressive_window);
+			strvec_pushf(&repack_args, "--window=%d", cfg.aggressive_window);
 	}
 	if (opts.quiet)
-		strvec_push(&repack, "-q");
+		strvec_push(&repack_args, "-q");
 
 	if (opts.auto_flag) {
 		if (cfg.detach_auto && opts.detach < 0)
@@ -930,7 +932,7 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 		/*
 		 * Auto-gc should be least intrusive as possible.
 		 */
-		if (!need_to_gc(&cfg)) {
+		if (!need_to_gc(&cfg, &repack_args)) {
 			ret = 0;
 			goto out;
 		}
@@ -952,7 +954,7 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 			find_base_packs(&keep_pack, cfg.big_pack_threshold);
 		}
 
-		add_repack_all_option(&cfg, &keep_pack);
+		add_repack_all_option(&cfg, &keep_pack, &repack_args);
 		string_list_clear(&keep_pack, 0);
 	}
 
@@ -1014,9 +1016,9 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 
 		repack_cmd.git_cmd = 1;
 		repack_cmd.close_object_store = 1;
-		strvec_pushv(&repack_cmd.args, repack.v);
+		strvec_pushv(&repack_cmd.args, repack_args.v);
 		if (run_command(&repack_cmd))
-			die(FAILED_RUN, repack.v[0]);
+			die(FAILED_RUN, repack_args.v[0]);
 
 		if (cfg.prune_expire) {
 			struct child_process prune_cmd = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
@@ -1067,6 +1069,7 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 
 out:
 	maintenance_run_opts_release(&opts);
+	strvec_clear(&repack_args);
 	gc_config_release(&cfg);
 	return 0;
 }
@@ -1269,6 +1272,19 @@ static int maintenance_task_gc_background(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 	return run_command(&child);
 }
 
+static int gc_condition(struct gc_config *cfg)
+{
+	/*
+	 * Note that it's fine to drop the repack arguments here, as we execute
+	 * git-gc(1) as a separate child process anyway. So it knows to compute
+	 * these arguments again.
+	 */
+	struct strvec repack_args = STRVEC_INIT;
+	int ret = need_to_gc(cfg, &repack_args);
+	strvec_clear(&repack_args);
+	return ret;
+}
+
 static int prune_packed(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts)
 {
 	struct child_process child = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
@@ -1596,7 +1612,7 @@ static const struct maintenance_task tasks[] = {
 		.name = "gc",
 		.foreground = maintenance_task_gc_foreground,
 		.background = maintenance_task_gc_background,
-		.auto_condition = need_to_gc,
+		.auto_condition = gc_condition,
 	},
 	[TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH] = {
 		.name = "commit-graph",

diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index e9772eb3a30..026d3a1d714 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -447,7 +447,7 @@ static int rerere_gc_condition(struct gc_config *cfg UNUSED)
 	return should_gc;
 }
 
-static int too_many_loose_objects(struct gc_config *cfg)
+static int too_many_loose_objects(int limit)
 {
 	/*
 	 * Quickly check if a "gc" is needed, by estimating how
@@ -469,7 +469,7 @@ static int too_many_loose_objects(struct gc_config *cfg)
 	if (!dir)
 		return 0;
 
-	auto_threshold = DIV_ROUND_UP(cfg->gc_auto_threshold, 256);
+	auto_threshold = DIV_ROUND_UP(limit, 256);
 	while ((ent = readdir(dir)) != NULL) {
 		if (strspn(ent->d_name, "0123456789abcdef") != hexsz_loose ||
 		    ent->d_name[hexsz_loose] != '\0')
@@ -703,7 +703,7 @@ static int need_to_gc(struct gc_config *cfg, struct strvec *repack_args)
 
 		add_repack_all_option(cfg, &keep_pack, repack_args);
 		string_list_clear(&keep_pack, 0);
-	} else if (too_many_loose_objects(cfg))
+	} else if (too_many_loose_objects(cfg->gc_auto_threshold))
 		add_repack_incremental_option(repack_args);
 	else
 		return 0;
@@ -1057,7 +1057,7 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 					     !opts.quiet && !daemonized ? COMMIT_GRAPH_WRITE_PROGRESS : 0,
 					     NULL);
 
-	if (opts.auto_flag && too_many_loose_objects(&cfg))
+	if (opts.auto_flag && too_many_loose_objects(cfg.gc_auto_threshold))
 		warning(_("There are too many unreachable loose objects; "
 			"run 'git prune' to remove them."));
 

Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc, builtin/gc.c, t/t7900-maintenance.sh

diff --git a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
index 2f719342183..26dc5de423f 100644
--- a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
@@ -75,6 +75,17 @@ maintenance.incremental-repack.auto::
 	number of pack-files not in the multi-pack-index is at least the value
 	of `maintenance.incremental-repack.auto`. The default value is 10.
 
+maintenance.geometric-repack.auto::
+	This integer config option controls how often the `geometric-repack`
+	task should be run as part of `git maintenance run --auto`. If zero,
+	then the `geometric-repack` task will not run with the `--auto`
+	option. A negative value will force the task to run every time.
+	Otherwise, a positive value implies the command should run either when
+	there are packfiles that need to be merged together to retain the
+	geometric progression, or when there are at least this many loose
+	objects that would be written into a new packfile. The default value is
+	100.
+
 maintenance.reflog-expire.auto::
 	This integer config option controls how often the `reflog-expire` task
 	should be run as part of `git maintenance run --auto`. If zero, then
diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index 026d3a1d714..2c9ecd464d2 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@
 #include "pack-objects.h"
 #include "path.h"
 #include "reflog.h"
+#include "repack.h"
 #include "rerere.h"
 #include "blob.h"
 #include "tree.h"
@@ -254,6 +255,7 @@ enum maintenance_task_label {
 	TASK_PREFETCH,
 	TASK_LOOSE_OBJECTS,
 	TASK_INCREMENTAL_REPACK,
+	TASK_GEOMETRIC_REPACK,
 	TASK_GC,
 	TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH,
 	TASK_PACK_REFS,
@@ -1566,6 +1568,101 @@ static int maintenance_task_incremental_repack(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts
 	return 0;
 }
 
+static int maintenance_task_geometric_repack(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
+					     struct gc_config *cfg)
+{
+	struct pack_geometry geometry = {
+		.split_factor = 2,
+	};
+	struct pack_objects_args po_args = {
+		.local = 1,
+	};
+	struct existing_packs existing_packs = EXISTING_PACKS_INIT;
+	struct string_list kept_packs = STRING_LIST_INIT_DUP;
+	struct child_process child = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
+	int ret;
+
+	existing_packs.repo = the_repository;
+	existing_packs_collect(&existing_packs, &kept_packs);
+	pack_geometry_init(&geometry, &existing_packs, &po_args);
+	pack_geometry_split(&geometry);
+
+	child.git_cmd = 1;
+
+	strvec_pushl(&child.args, "repack", "-d", "-l", NULL);
+	if (geometry.split < geometry.pack_nr)
+		strvec_push(&child.args, "--geometric=2");
+	else
+		add_repack_all_option(cfg, NULL, &child.args);
+	if (opts->quiet)
+		strvec_push(&child.args, "--quiet");
+	if (the_repository->settings.core_multi_pack_index)
+		strvec_push(&child.args, "--write-midx");
+
+	if (run_command(&child)) {
+		ret = error(_("failed to perform geometric repack"));
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	ret = 0;
+
+out:
+	existing_packs_release(&existing_packs);
+	pack_geometry_release(&geometry);
+	return ret;
+}
+
+static int geometric_repack_auto_condition(struct gc_config *cfg UNUSED)
+{
+	struct pack_geometry geometry = {
+		.split_factor = 2,
+	};
+	struct pack_objects_args po_args = {
+		.local = 1,
+	};
+	struct existing_packs existing_packs = EXISTING_PACKS_INIT;
+	struct string_list kept_packs = STRING_LIST_INIT_DUP;
+	int auto_value = 100;
+	int ret;
+
+	repo_config_get_int(the_repository, "maintenance.geometric-repack.auto",
+			    &auto_value);
+	if (!auto_value)
+		return 0;
+	if (auto_value < 0)
+		return 1;
+
+	existing_packs.repo = the_repository;
+	existing_packs_collect(&existing_packs, &kept_packs);
+	pack_geometry_init(&geometry, &existing_packs, &po_args);
+	pack_geometry_split(&geometry);
+
+	/*
+	 * When we'd merge at least two packs with one another we always
+	 * perform the repack.
+	 */
+	if (geometry.split) {
+		ret = 1;
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	/*
+	 * Otherwise, we estimate the number of loose objects to determine
+	 * whether we want to create a new packfile or not.
+	 */
+	if (too_many_loose_objects(auto_value)) {
+		ret = 1;
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	ret = 0;
+
+out:
+	existing_packs_release(&existing_packs);
+	pack_geometry_release(&geometry);
+	return ret;
+}
+
 typedef int (*maintenance_task_fn)(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 				   struct gc_config *cfg);
 typedef int (*maintenance_auto_fn)(struct gc_config *cfg);
@@ -1608,6 +1705,11 @@ static const struct maintenance_task tasks[] = {
 		.background = maintenance_task_incremental_repack,
 		.auto_condition = incremental_repack_auto_condition,
 	},
+	[TASK_GEOMETRIC_REPACK] = {
+		.name = "geometric-repack",
+		.background = maintenance_task_geometric_repack,
+		.auto_condition = geometric_repack_auto_condition,
+	},
 	[TASK_GC] = {
 		.name = "gc",
 		.foreground = maintenance_task_gc_foreground,
diff --git a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
index ddd273d8dc2..60029a65a35 100755
--- a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
+++ b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
@@ -465,6 +465,145 @@ test_expect_success 'maintenance.incremental-repack.auto (when config is unset)'
 	)
 '
 
+run_and_verify_geometric_pack () {
+	EXPECTED_PACKS="$1" &&
+
+	# Verify that we perform a geometric repack.
+	rm -f "trace2.txt" &&
+	GIT_TRACE2_EVENT="$(pwd)/trace2.txt" \
+		git maintenance run --task=geometric-repack 2>/dev/null &&
+	test_subcommand git repack -d -l --geometric=2 \
+		--quiet --write-midx <trace2.txt &&
+
+	# Verify that the number of packfiles matches our expectation.
+	ls -l .git/objects/pack/*.pack >packfiles &&
+	test_line_count = "$EXPECTED_PACKS" packfiles &&
+
+	# And verify that there are no loose objects anymore.
+	cat >expect <<-\EOF &&
+	info
+	pack
+	EOF
+	ls .git/objects >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+}
+
+test_expect_success 'geometric repacking task' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		git config set maintenance.auto false &&
+		test_commit initial &&
+
+		# The initial repack causes an all-into-one repack.
+		GIT_TRACE2_EVENT="$(pwd)/initial-repack.txt" \
+			git maintenance run --task=geometric-repack 2>/dev/null &&
+		test_subcommand git repack -d -l --cruft --cruft-expiration=2.weeks.ago --quiet --write-midx <initial-repack.txt &&
+
+		# Repacking should now cause a no-op geometric repack because
+		# no packfiles need to be combined.
+		ls -l .git/objects/pack >before &&
+		run_and_verify_geometric_pack 1 &&
+		ls -l .git/objects/pack >after &&
+		test_cmp before after &&
+
+		# This incremental change creates a new packfile that only
+		# soaks up loose objects. The packfiles are not getting merged
+		# at this point.
+		test_commit loose &&
+		run_and_verify_geometric_pack 2 &&
+
+		# Both packfiles have 3 objects, so the next run would cause us
+		# to merge all packfiles together. This should be turned into
+		# an all-into-one-repack.
+		GIT_TRACE2_EVENT="$(pwd)/all-into-one-repack.txt" \
+			git maintenance run --task=geometric-repack 2>/dev/null &&
+		test_subcommand git repack -d -l --cruft --cruft-expiration=2.weeks.ago --quiet --write-midx <all-into-one-repack.txt &&
+
+		# The geometric repack soaks up unreachable objects.
+		echo blob-1 | git hash-object -w --stdin -t blob &&
+		run_and_verify_geometric_pack 2 &&
+
+		# A second unreachable object should be written into another packfile.
+		echo blob-2 | git hash-object -w --stdin -t blob &&
+		run_and_verify_geometric_pack 3 &&
+
+		# And these two small packs should now be merged via the
+		# geometric repack. The large packfile should remain intact.
+		run_and_verify_geometric_pack 2 &&
+
+		# If we now add two more objects and repack twice we should
+		# then see another all-into-one repack. This time around
+		# though, as we have unreachable objects, we should also see a
+		# cruft pack.
+		echo blob-3 | git hash-object -w --stdin -t blob &&
+		echo blob-4 | git hash-object -w --stdin -t blob &&
+		run_and_verify_geometric_pack 3 &&
+		GIT_TRACE2_EVENT="$(pwd)/cruft-repack.txt" \
+			git maintenance run --task=geometric-repack 2>/dev/null &&
+		test_subcommand git repack -d -l --cruft --cruft-expiration=2.weeks.ago --quiet --write-midx <cruft-repack.txt &&
+		ls .git/objects/pack/*.pack >packs &&
+		test_line_count = 2 packs &&
+		ls .git/objects/pack/*.mtimes >cruft &&
+		test_line_count = 1 cruft
+	)
+'
+
+test_geometric_repack_needed () {
+	NEEDED="$1"
+	GEOMETRIC_CONFIG="$2" &&
+	rm -f trace2.txt &&
+	GIT_TRACE2_EVENT="$(pwd)/trace2.txt" \
+		git ${GEOMETRIC_CONFIG:+-c maintenance.geometric-repack.$GEOMETRIC_CONFIG} \
+		maintenance run --auto --task=geometric-repack 2>/dev/null &&
+	case "$NEEDED" in
+	true)
+		test_grep "\[\"git\",\"repack\"," trace2.txt;;
+	false)
+		! test_grep "\[\"git\",\"repack\"," trace2.txt;;
+	*)
+		BUG "invalid parameter: $NEEDED";;
+	esac
+}
+
+test_expect_success 'geometric repacking with --auto' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+
+		# An empty repository does not need repacking, except when
+		# explicitly told to do it.
+		test_geometric_repack_needed false &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed false auto=0 &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed false auto=1 &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed true auto=-1 &&
+
+		test_oid_init &&
+
+		# Loose objects cause a repack when crossing the limit. Note
+		# that the number of objects gets extrapolated by having a look
+		# at the "objects/17/" shard.
+		test_commit "$(test_oid blob17_1)" &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed false &&
+		test_commit "$(test_oid blob17_2)" &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed false auto=257 &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed true auto=256 &&
+
+		# Force another repack.
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed true auto=-1 &&
+
+		# We now have two packfiles that would be merged together. As
+		# such, the repack should always happen unless the user has
+		# disabled the auto task.
+		test_geometric_repack_needed false auto=0 &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed true auto=9000
+	)
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'pack-refs task' '
 	for n in $(test_seq 1 5)
 	do

Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc, builtin/gc.c, t/t7900-maintenance.sh

diff --git a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
index 26dc5de423f..45fdafc2c63 100644
--- a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
@@ -86,6 +86,11 @@ maintenance.geometric-repack.auto::
 	objects that would be written into a new packfile. The default value is
 	100.
 
+maintenance.geometric-repack.splitFactor::
+	This integer config option controls the factor used for the geometric
+	sequence. See the `--geometric=` option in linkgit:git-repack[1] for
+	more details. Defaults to `2`.
+
 maintenance.reflog-expire.auto::
 	This integer config option controls how often the `reflog-expire` task
 	should be run as part of `git maintenance run --auto`. If zero, then
diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index 2c9ecd464d2..fb1a82e0304 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -1582,6 +1582,9 @@ static int maintenance_task_geometric_repack(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 	struct child_process child = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
 	int ret;
 
+	repo_config_get_int(the_repository, "maintenance.geometric-repack.splitFactor",
+			    &geometry.split_factor);
+
 	existing_packs.repo = the_repository;
 	existing_packs_collect(&existing_packs, &kept_packs);
 	pack_geometry_init(&geometry, &existing_packs, &po_args);
@@ -1591,7 +1594,8 @@ static int maintenance_task_geometric_repack(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 
 	strvec_pushl(&child.args, "repack", "-d", "-l", NULL);
 	if (geometry.split < geometry.pack_nr)
-		strvec_push(&child.args, "--geometric=2");
+		strvec_pushf(&child.args, "--geometric=%d",
+			     geometry.split_factor);
 	else
 		add_repack_all_option(cfg, NULL, &child.args);
 	if (opts->quiet)
@@ -1632,6 +1636,9 @@ static int geometric_repack_auto_condition(struct gc_config *cfg UNUSED)
 	if (auto_value < 0)
 		return 1;
 
+	repo_config_get_int(the_repository, "maintenance.geometric-repack.splitFactor",
+			    &geometry.split_factor);
+
 	existing_packs.repo = the_repository;
 	existing_packs_collect(&existing_packs, &kept_packs);
 	pack_geometry_init(&geometry, &existing_packs, &po_args);
diff --git a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
index 60029a65a35..8f332e7fbbe 100755
--- a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
+++ b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
@@ -604,6 +604,38 @@ test_expect_success 'geometric repacking with --auto' '
 	)
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'geometric repacking honors configured split factor' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		git config set maintenance.auto false &&
+
+		# Create three different packs with 9, 2 and 1 object, respectively.
+		# This is done so that only a subset of packs would be merged
+		# together so that we can verify that `git repack` receives the
+		# correct geometric factor.
+		for i in $(test_seq 9)
+		do
+			echo first-$i | git hash-object -w --stdin -t blob || return 1
+		done &&
+		git repack --geometric=2 -d &&
+
+		for i in $(test_seq 2)
+		do
+			echo second-$i | git hash-object -w --stdin -t blob || return 1
+		done &&
+		git repack --geometric=2 -d &&
+
+		echo third | git hash-object -w --stdin -t blob &&
+		git repack --geometric=2 -d &&
+
+		test_geometric_repack_needed false splitFactor=2 &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed true splitFactor=3 &&
+		test_subcommand git repack -d -l --geometric=3 --quiet --write-midx <trace2.txt
+	)
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'pack-refs task' '
 	for n in $(test_seq 1 5)
 	do

builtin/gc.c, t/t7900-maintenance.sh

diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index fb1a82e030..726d944d3b 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -1855,6 +1855,13 @@ static const struct maintenance_strategy incremental_strategy = {
 	},
 };
 
+static struct maintenance_strategy parse_maintenance_strategy(const char *name)
+{
+	if (!strcasecmp(name, "incremental"))
+		return incremental_strategy;
+	die(_("unknown maintenance strategy: '%s'"), name);
+}
+
 static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 				   const struct string_list *selected_tasks)
 {
@@ -1890,12 +1897,10 @@ static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 	 * override specific aspects of our strategy.
 	 */
 	if (opts->schedule) {
-		strategy = none_strategy;
-
-		if (!repo_config_get_string_tmp(the_repository, "maintenance.strategy", &config_str)) {
-			if (!strcasecmp(config_str, "incremental"))
-				strategy = incremental_strategy;
-		}
+		if (!repo_config_get_string_tmp(the_repository, "maintenance.strategy", &config_str))
+			strategy = parse_maintenance_strategy(config_str);
+		else
+			strategy = none_strategy;
 	} else {
 		strategy = default_strategy;
 	}
diff --git a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
index 8f332e7fbb..69fb6e9ee2 100755
--- a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
+++ b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
@@ -1264,6 +1264,11 @@ test_expect_success 'fails when running outside of a repository' '
 	nongit test_must_fail git maintenance unregister
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'fails when configured to use an invalid strategy' '
+	test_must_fail git -c maintenance.strategy=invalid maintenance run --schedule=hourly 2>err &&
+	test_grep "unknown maintenance strategy: .invalid." err
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'register and unregister bare repo' '
 	test_when_finished "git config --global --unset-all maintenance.repo || :" &&
 	test_might_fail git config --global --unset-all maintenance.repo &&

diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index 726d944d3b..eff4e4886a 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -1827,30 +1827,39 @@ static int maintenance_run_tasks(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 	return result;
 }
 
+enum maintenance_type {
+	/* As invoked via `git maintenance run --schedule=`. */
+	MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED = (1 << 0),
+	/* As invoked via `git maintenance run` and with `--auto`. */
+	MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL    = (1 << 1),
+};
+
 struct maintenance_strategy {
 	struct {
-		int enabled;
+		unsigned type;
 		enum schedule_priority schedule;
 	} tasks[TASK__COUNT];
 };
 
 static const struct maintenance_strategy none_strategy = { 0 };
+
 static const struct maintenance_strategy default_strategy = {
 	.tasks = {
-		[TASK_GC].enabled = 1,
+		[TASK_GC].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
 	},
 };
+
 static const struct maintenance_strategy incremental_strategy = {
 	.tasks = {
-		[TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH].enabled = 1,
+		[TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
 		[TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH].schedule = SCHEDULE_HOURLY,
-		[TASK_PREFETCH].enabled = 1,
+		[TASK_PREFETCH].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
 		[TASK_PREFETCH].schedule = SCHEDULE_HOURLY,
-		[TASK_INCREMENTAL_REPACK].enabled = 1,
+		[TASK_INCREMENTAL_REPACK].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
 		[TASK_INCREMENTAL_REPACK].schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
-		[TASK_LOOSE_OBJECTS].enabled = 1,
+		[TASK_LOOSE_OBJECTS].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
 		[TASK_LOOSE_OBJECTS].schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
-		[TASK_PACK_REFS].enabled = 1,
+		[TASK_PACK_REFS].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
 		[TASK_PACK_REFS].schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
 	},
 };
@@ -1867,6 +1876,7 @@ static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 {
 	struct strbuf config_name = STRBUF_INIT;
 	struct maintenance_strategy strategy;
+	enum maintenance_type type;
 	const char *config_str;
 
 	/*
@@ -1901,8 +1911,10 @@ static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 			strategy = parse_maintenance_strategy(config_str);
 		else
 			strategy = none_strategy;
+		type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED;
 	} else {
 		strategy = default_strategy;
+		type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL;
 	}
 
 	for (size_t i = 0; i < TASK__COUNT; i++) {
@@ -1912,8 +1924,8 @@ static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 		strbuf_addf(&config_name, "maintenance.%s.enabled",
 			    tasks[i].name);
 		if (!repo_config_get_bool(the_repository, config_name.buf, &config_value))
-			strategy.tasks[i].enabled = config_value;
-		if (!strategy.tasks[i].enabled)
+			strategy.tasks[i].type = config_value ? type : 0;
+		if (!(strategy.tasks[i].type & type))
 			continue;
 
 		if (opts->schedule) {

Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc, builtin/gc.c, t/t7900-maintenance.sh

diff --git a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
index 45fdafc2c6..b7e90a71a3 100644
--- a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
@@ -16,19 +16,25 @@ detach.
 
 maintenance.strategy::
 	This string config option provides a way to specify one of a few
-	recommended schedules for background maintenance. This only affects
-	which tasks are run during `git maintenance run --schedule=X`
-	commands, provided no `--task=<task>` arguments are provided.
-	Further, if a `maintenance.<task>.schedule` config value is set,
-	then that value is used instead of the one provided by
-	`maintenance.strategy`. The possible strategy strings are:
+	recommended strategies for repository maintenance. This affects
+	which tasks are run during `git maintenance run`, provided no
+	`--task=<task>` arguments are provided. This setting impacts manual
+	maintenance, auto-maintenance as well as scheduled maintenance. The
+	tasks that run may be different depending on the maintenance type.
 +
-* `none`: This default setting implies no tasks are run at any schedule.
+The maintenance strategy can be further tweaked by setting
+`maintenance.<task>.enabled` and `maintenance.<task>.schedule`. If set, these
+values are used instead of the defaults provided by `maintenance.strategy`.
++
+The possible strategies are:
++
+* `none`: This strategy implies no tasks are run at all. This is the default
+  strategy for scheduled maintenance.
 * `incremental`: This setting optimizes for performing small maintenance
   activities that do not delete any data. This does not schedule the `gc`
   task, but runs the `prefetch` and `commit-graph` tasks hourly, the
   `loose-objects` and `incremental-repack` tasks daily, and the `pack-refs`
-  task weekly.
+  task weekly. Manual repository maintenance uses the `gc` task.
 
 maintenance.<task>.enabled::
 	This boolean config option controls whether the maintenance task
diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index eff4e4886a..9c05905b9a 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -1861,6 +1861,19 @@ static const struct maintenance_strategy incremental_strategy = {
 		[TASK_LOOSE_OBJECTS].schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
 		[TASK_PACK_REFS].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
 		[TASK_PACK_REFS].schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
+
+		/*
+		 * Historically, the "incremental" strategy was only available
+		 * in the context of scheduled maintenance when set up via
+		 * "maintenance.strategy". We have later expanded that config
+		 * to also cover manual maintenance.
+		 *
+		 * To retain backwards compatibility with the previous status
+		 * quo we thus run git-gc(1) in case manual maintenance was
+		 * requested. This is the same as the default strategy, which
+		 * would have been in use beforehand.
+		 */
+		[TASK_GC].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
 	},
 };
 
@@ -1904,19 +1917,20 @@ static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 	 *   - Unscheduled maintenance uses our default strategy.
 	 *
 	 * Both of these are affected by the gitconfig though, which may
-	 * override specific aspects of our strategy.
+	 * override specific aspects of our strategy. Furthermore, both
+	 * strategies can be overridden by setting "maintenance.strategy".
 	 */
 	if (opts->schedule) {
-		if (!repo_config_get_string_tmp(the_repository, "maintenance.strategy", &config_str))
-			strategy = parse_maintenance_strategy(config_str);
-		else
-			strategy = none_strategy;
+		strategy = none_strategy;
 		type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED;
 	} else {
 		strategy = default_strategy;
 		type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL;
 	}
 
+	if (!repo_config_get_string_tmp(the_repository, "maintenance.strategy", &config_str))
+		strategy = parse_maintenance_strategy(config_str);
+
 	for (size_t i = 0; i < TASK__COUNT; i++) {
 		int config_value;
 
diff --git a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
index 69fb6e9ee2..3530895bfb 100755
--- a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
+++ b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
@@ -887,6 +887,46 @@ test_expect_success 'maintenance.strategy inheritance' '
 		<modified-daily.txt
 '
 
+test_strategy () {
+	STRATEGY="$1"
+	shift
+
+	cat >expect &&
+	rm -f trace2.txt &&
+	GIT_TRACE2_EVENT="$(pwd)/trace2.txt" \
+		git -c maintenance.strategy=$STRATEGY maintenance run --quiet "$@" &&
+	sed -n 's/{"event":"child_start","sid":"[^/"]*",.*,"argv":\["\(.*\)\"]}/\1/p' <trace2.txt |
+		sed 's/","/ /g'  >actual
+	test_cmp expect actual
+}
+
+test_expect_success 'maintenance.strategy is respected' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit initial &&
+
+		test_must_fail git -c maintenance.strategy=unknown maintenance run 2>err &&
+		test_grep "unknown maintenance strategy: .unknown." err &&
+
+		test_strategy incremental <<-\EOF &&
+		git pack-refs --all --prune
+		git reflog expire --all
+		git gc --quiet --no-detach --skip-foreground-tasks
+		EOF
+
+		test_strategy incremental --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF
+		git pack-refs --all --prune
+		git prune-packed --quiet
+		git multi-pack-index write --no-progress
+		git multi-pack-index expire --no-progress
+		git multi-pack-index repack --no-progress --batch-size=1
+		git commit-graph write --split --reachable --no-progress
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'register and unregister' '
 	test_when_finished git config --global --unset-all maintenance.repo &&
 

Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc, builtin/gc.c, t/t7900-maintenance.sh

diff --git a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
index b7e90a71a3..b2bacdc822 100644
--- a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@ The possible strategies are:
 +
 * `none`: This strategy implies no tasks are run at all. This is the default
   strategy for scheduled maintenance.
+* `gc`: This strategy runs the `gc` task. This is the default strategy for
+  manual maintenance.
 * `incremental`: This setting optimizes for performing small maintenance
   activities that do not delete any data. This does not schedule the `gc`
   task, but runs the `prefetch` and `commit-graph` tasks hourly, the
diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index 9c05905b9a..aaff0bae15 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -1843,9 +1843,10 @@ struct maintenance_strategy {
 
 static const struct maintenance_strategy none_strategy = { 0 };
 
-static const struct maintenance_strategy default_strategy = {
+static const struct maintenance_strategy gc_strategy = {
 	.tasks = {
-		[TASK_GC].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+		[TASK_GC].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
+		[TASK_GC].schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
 	},
 };
 
@@ -1881,6 +1882,8 @@ static struct maintenance_strategy parse_maintenance_strategy(const char *name)
 {
 	if (!strcasecmp(name, "incremental"))
 		return incremental_strategy;
+	if (!strcasecmp(name, "gc"))
+		return gc_strategy;
 	die(_("unknown maintenance strategy: '%s'"), name);
 }
 
@@ -1924,7 +1927,7 @@ static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 		strategy = none_strategy;
 		type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED;
 	} else {
-		strategy = default_strategy;
+		strategy = gc_strategy;
 		type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL;
 	}
 
diff --git a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
index 3530895bfb..2770148fd1 100755
--- a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
+++ b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
@@ -916,7 +916,7 @@ test_expect_success 'maintenance.strategy is respected' '
 		git gc --quiet --no-detach --skip-foreground-tasks
 		EOF
 
-		test_strategy incremental --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF
+		test_strategy incremental --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF &&
 		git pack-refs --all --prune
 		git prune-packed --quiet
 		git multi-pack-index write --no-progress
@@ -924,6 +924,18 @@ test_expect_success 'maintenance.strategy is respected' '
 		git multi-pack-index repack --no-progress --batch-size=1
 		git commit-graph write --split --reachable --no-progress
 		EOF
+
+		test_strategy gc <<-\EOF &&
+		git pack-refs --all --prune
+		git reflog expire --all
+		git gc --quiet --no-detach --skip-foreground-tasks
+		EOF
+
+		test_strategy gc --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF
+		git pack-refs --all --prune
+		git reflog expire --all
+		git gc --quiet --no-detach --skip-foreground-tasks
+		EOF
 	)
 '
 

Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc, builtin/gc.c, t/t7900-maintenance.sh

diff --git a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
index b2bacdc822..d0c38f03fa 100644
--- a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
@@ -32,6 +32,15 @@ The possible strategies are:
   strategy for scheduled maintenance.
 * `gc`: This strategy runs the `gc` task. This is the default strategy for
   manual maintenance.
+* `geometric`: This strategy performs geometric repacking of packfiles and
+  keeps auxiliary data structures up-to-date. The strategy expires data in the
+  reflog and removes worktrees that cannot be located anymore. When the
+  geometric repacking strategy would decide to do an all-into-one repack, then
+  the strategy generates a cruft pack for all unreachable objects. Objects that
+  are already part of a cruft pack will be expired.
++
+This repacking strategy is a full replacement for the `gc` strategy and is
+recommended for large repositories.
 * `incremental`: This setting optimizes for performing small maintenance
   activities that do not delete any data. This does not schedule the `gc`
   task, but runs the `prefetch` and `commit-graph` tasks hourly, the
diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index aaff0bae15..9739bb0ea2 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -1878,12 +1878,31 @@ static const struct maintenance_strategy incremental_strategy = {
 	},
 };
 
+static const struct maintenance_strategy geometric_strategy = {
+	.tasks = {
+		[TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+		[TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH].schedule = SCHEDULE_HOURLY,
+		[TASK_GEOMETRIC_REPACK].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+		[TASK_GEOMETRIC_REPACK].schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
+		[TASK_PACK_REFS].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+		[TASK_PACK_REFS].schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
+		[TASK_RERERE_GC].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+		[TASK_RERERE_GC].schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
+		[TASK_REFLOG_EXPIRE].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+		[TASK_REFLOG_EXPIRE].schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
+		[TASK_WORKTREE_PRUNE].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+		[TASK_WORKTREE_PRUNE].schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
+	},
+};
+
 static struct maintenance_strategy parse_maintenance_strategy(const char *name)
 {
 	if (!strcasecmp(name, "incremental"))
 		return incremental_strategy;
 	if (!strcasecmp(name, "gc"))
 		return gc_strategy;
+	if (!strcasecmp(name, "geometric"))
+		return geometric_strategy;
 	die(_("unknown maintenance strategy: '%s'"), name);
 }
 
diff --git a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
index 2770148fd1..aedb9e7e8e 100755
--- a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
+++ b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
@@ -931,11 +931,29 @@ test_expect_success 'maintenance.strategy is respected' '
 		git gc --quiet --no-detach --skip-foreground-tasks
 		EOF
 
-		test_strategy gc --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF
+		test_strategy gc --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF &&
 		git pack-refs --all --prune
 		git reflog expire --all
 		git gc --quiet --no-detach --skip-foreground-tasks
 		EOF
+
+		test_strategy geometric <<-\EOF &&
+		git pack-refs --all --prune
+		git reflog expire --all
+		git repack -d -l --geometric=2 --quiet --write-midx
+		git commit-graph write --split --reachable --no-progress
+		git worktree prune --expire 3.months.ago
+		git rerere gc
+		EOF
+
+		test_strategy geometric --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF
+		git pack-refs --all --prune
+		git reflog expire --all
+		git repack -d -l --geometric=2 --quiet --write-midx
+		git commit-graph write --split --reachable --no-progress
+		git worktree prune --expire 3.months.ago
+		git rerere gc
+		EOF
 	)
 '
 

diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index 9739bb0ea2..881ef6ad88 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -1880,18 +1880,30 @@ static const struct maintenance_strategy incremental_strategy = {

 static const struct maintenance_strategy geometric_strategy = {
 	.tasks = {
-		[TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
-		[TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH].schedule = SCHEDULE_HOURLY,
-		[TASK_GEOMETRIC_REPACK].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
-		[TASK_GEOMETRIC_REPACK].schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
-		[TASK_PACK_REFS].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
-		[TASK_PACK_REFS].schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
-		[TASK_RERERE_GC].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
-		[TASK_RERERE_GC].schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
-		[TASK_REFLOG_EXPIRE].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
-		[TASK_REFLOG_EXPIRE].schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
-		[TASK_WORKTREE_PRUNE].type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
-		[TASK_WORKTREE_PRUNE].schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
+		[TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH] = {
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_HOURLY,
+		},
+		[TASK_GEOMETRIC_REPACK] = {
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
+		},
+		[TASK_PACK_REFS] = {
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
+		},
+		[TASK_RERERE_GC] = {
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
+		},
+		[TASK_REFLOG_EXPIRE] = {
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
+		},
+		[TASK_WORKTREE_PRUNE] = {
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
+		},
 	},
 };

--- >8 ---

The rest all looks good to me.

Thanks,
Taylor

diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index e19e13d9788..e9772eb3a30 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -55,7 +55,6 @@ static const char * const builtin_gc_usage[] = {
 };
 
 static timestamp_t gc_log_expire_time;
-static struct strvec repack = STRVEC_INIT;
 static struct tempfile *pidfile;
 static struct lock_file log_lock;
 static struct string_list pack_garbage = STRING_LIST_INIT_DUP;
@@ -618,48 +617,50 @@ static uint64_t estimate_repack_memory(struct gc_config *cfg,
 	return os_cache + heap;
 }
 
-static int keep_one_pack(struct string_list_item *item, void *data UNUSED)
+static int keep_one_pack(struct string_list_item *item, void *data)
 {
-	strvec_pushf(&repack, "--keep-pack=%s", basename(item->string));
+	struct strvec *args = data;
+	strvec_pushf(args, "--keep-pack=%s", basename(item->string));
 	return 0;
 }
 
 static void add_repack_all_option(struct gc_config *cfg,
-				  struct string_list *keep_pack)
+				  struct string_list *keep_pack,
+				  struct strvec *args)
 {
 	if (cfg->prune_expire && !strcmp(cfg->prune_expire, "now")
 		&& !(cfg->cruft_packs && cfg->repack_expire_to))
-		strvec_push(&repack, "-a");
+		strvec_push(args, "-a");
 	else if (cfg->cruft_packs) {
-		strvec_push(&repack, "--cruft");
+		strvec_push(args, "--cruft");
 		if (cfg->prune_expire)
-			strvec_pushf(&repack, "--cruft-expiration=%s", cfg->prune_expire);
+			strvec_pushf(args, "--cruft-expiration=%s", cfg->prune_expire);
 		if (cfg->max_cruft_size)
-			strvec_pushf(&repack, "--max-cruft-size=%lu",
+			strvec_pushf(args, "--max-cruft-size=%lu",
 				     cfg->max_cruft_size);
 		if (cfg->repack_expire_to)
-			strvec_pushf(&repack, "--expire-to=%s", cfg->repack_expire_to);
+			strvec_pushf(args, "--expire-to=%s", cfg->repack_expire_to);
 	} else {
-		strvec_push(&repack, "-A");
+		strvec_push(args, "-A");
 		if (cfg->prune_expire)
-			strvec_pushf(&repack, "--unpack-unreachable=%s", cfg->prune_expire);
+			strvec_pushf(args, "--unpack-unreachable=%s", cfg->prune_expire);
 	}
 
 	if (keep_pack)
-		for_each_string_list(keep_pack, keep_one_pack, NULL);
+		for_each_string_list(keep_pack, keep_one_pack, args);
 
 	if (cfg->repack_filter && *cfg->repack_filter)
-		strvec_pushf(&repack, "--filter=%s", cfg->repack_filter);
+		strvec_pushf(args, "--filter=%s", cfg->repack_filter);
 	if (cfg->repack_filter_to && *cfg->repack_filter_to)
-		strvec_pushf(&repack, "--filter-to=%s", cfg->repack_filter_to);
+		strvec_pushf(args, "--filter-to=%s", cfg->repack_filter_to);
 }
 
-static void add_repack_incremental_option(void)
+static void add_repack_incremental_option(struct strvec *args)
 {
-	strvec_push(&repack, "--no-write-bitmap-index");
+	strvec_push(args, "--no-write-bitmap-index");
 }
 
-static int need_to_gc(struct gc_config *cfg)
+static int need_to_gc(struct gc_config *cfg, struct strvec *repack_args)
 {
 	/*
 	 * Setting gc.auto to 0 or negative can disable the
@@ -700,10 +701,10 @@ static int need_to_gc(struct gc_config *cfg)
 				string_list_clear(&keep_pack, 0);
 		}
 
-		add_repack_all_option(cfg, &keep_pack);
+		add_repack_all_option(cfg, &keep_pack, repack_args);
 		string_list_clear(&keep_pack, 0);
 	} else if (too_many_loose_objects(cfg))
-		add_repack_incremental_option();
+		add_repack_incremental_option(repack_args);
 	else
 		return 0;
 
@@ -852,6 +853,7 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 	int keep_largest_pack = -1;
 	int skip_foreground_tasks = 0;
 	timestamp_t dummy;
+	struct strvec repack_args = STRVEC_INIT;
 	struct maintenance_run_opts opts = MAINTENANCE_RUN_OPTS_INIT;
 	struct gc_config cfg = GC_CONFIG_INIT;
 	const char *prune_expire_sentinel = "sentinel";
@@ -891,7 +893,7 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 	show_usage_with_options_if_asked(argc, argv,
 					 builtin_gc_usage, builtin_gc_options);
 
-	strvec_pushl(&repack, "repack", "-d", "-l", NULL);
+	strvec_pushl(&repack_args, "repack", "-d", "-l", NULL);
 
 	gc_config(&cfg);
 
@@ -914,14 +916,14 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 		die(_("failed to parse prune expiry value %s"), cfg.prune_expire);
 
 	if (aggressive) {
-		strvec_push(&repack, "-f");
+		strvec_push(&repack_args, "-f");
 		if (cfg.aggressive_depth > 0)
-			strvec_pushf(&repack, "--depth=%d", cfg.aggressive_depth);
+			strvec_pushf(&repack_args, "--depth=%d", cfg.aggressive_depth);
 		if (cfg.aggressive_window > 0)
-			strvec_pushf(&repack, "--window=%d", cfg.aggressive_window);
+			strvec_pushf(&repack_args, "--window=%d", cfg.aggressive_window);
 	}
 	if (opts.quiet)
-		strvec_push(&repack, "-q");
+		strvec_push(&repack_args, "-q");
 
 	if (opts.auto_flag) {
 		if (cfg.detach_auto && opts.detach < 0)
@@ -930,7 +932,7 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 		/*
 		 * Auto-gc should be least intrusive as possible.
 		 */
-		if (!need_to_gc(&cfg)) {
+		if (!need_to_gc(&cfg, &repack_args)) {
 			ret = 0;
 			goto out;
 		}
@@ -952,7 +954,7 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 			find_base_packs(&keep_pack, cfg.big_pack_threshold);
 		}
 
-		add_repack_all_option(&cfg, &keep_pack);
+		add_repack_all_option(&cfg, &keep_pack, &repack_args);
 		string_list_clear(&keep_pack, 0);
 	}
 
@@ -1014,9 +1016,9 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 
 		repack_cmd.git_cmd = 1;
 		repack_cmd.close_object_store = 1;
-		strvec_pushv(&repack_cmd.args, repack.v);
+		strvec_pushv(&repack_cmd.args, repack_args.v);
 		if (run_command(&repack_cmd))
-			die(FAILED_RUN, repack.v[0]);
+			die(FAILED_RUN, repack_args.v[0]);
 
 		if (cfg.prune_expire) {
 			struct child_process prune_cmd = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
@@ -1067,6 +1069,7 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 
 out:
 	maintenance_run_opts_release(&opts);
+	strvec_clear(&repack_args);
 	gc_config_release(&cfg);
 	return 0;
 }
@@ -1269,6 +1272,19 @@ static int maintenance_task_gc_background(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 	return run_command(&child);
 }
 
+static int gc_condition(struct gc_config *cfg)
+{
+	/*
+	 * Note that it's fine to drop the repack arguments here, as we execute
+	 * git-gc(1) as a separate child process anyway. So it knows to compute
+	 * these arguments again.
+	 */
+	struct strvec repack_args = STRVEC_INIT;
+	int ret = need_to_gc(cfg, &repack_args);
+	strvec_clear(&repack_args);
+	return ret;
+}
+
 static int prune_packed(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts)
 {
 	struct child_process child = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
@@ -1596,7 +1612,7 @@ static const struct maintenance_task tasks[] = {
 		.name = "gc",
 		.foreground = maintenance_task_gc_foreground,
 		.background = maintenance_task_gc_background,
-		.auto_condition = need_to_gc,
+		.auto_condition = gc_condition,
 	},
 	[TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH] = {
 		.name = "commit-graph",

diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index e9772eb3a30..026d3a1d714 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -447,7 +447,7 @@ static int rerere_gc_condition(struct gc_config *cfg UNUSED)
 	return should_gc;
 }
 
-static int too_many_loose_objects(struct gc_config *cfg)
+static int too_many_loose_objects(int limit)
 {
 	/*
 	 * Quickly check if a "gc" is needed, by estimating how
@@ -469,7 +469,7 @@ static int too_many_loose_objects(struct gc_config *cfg)
 	if (!dir)
 		return 0;
 
-	auto_threshold = DIV_ROUND_UP(cfg->gc_auto_threshold, 256);
+	auto_threshold = DIV_ROUND_UP(limit, 256);
 	while ((ent = readdir(dir)) != NULL) {
 		if (strspn(ent->d_name, "0123456789abcdef") != hexsz_loose ||
 		    ent->d_name[hexsz_loose] != '\0')
@@ -703,7 +703,7 @@ static int need_to_gc(struct gc_config *cfg, struct strvec *repack_args)
 
 		add_repack_all_option(cfg, &keep_pack, repack_args);
 		string_list_clear(&keep_pack, 0);
-	} else if (too_many_loose_objects(cfg))
+	} else if (too_many_loose_objects(cfg->gc_auto_threshold))
 		add_repack_incremental_option(repack_args);
 	else
 		return 0;
@@ -1057,7 +1057,7 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 					     !opts.quiet && !daemonized ? COMMIT_GRAPH_WRITE_PROGRESS : 0,
 					     NULL);
 
-	if (opts.auto_flag && too_many_loose_objects(&cfg))
+	if (opts.auto_flag && too_many_loose_objects(cfg.gc_auto_threshold))
 		warning(_("There are too many unreachable loose objects; "
 			"run 'git prune' to remove them."));
 

Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc, builtin/gc.c, t/t7900-maintenance.sh

diff --git a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
index 2f719342183..26dc5de423f 100644
--- a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
@@ -75,6 +75,17 @@ maintenance.incremental-repack.auto::
 	number of pack-files not in the multi-pack-index is at least the value
 	of `maintenance.incremental-repack.auto`. The default value is 10.
 
+maintenance.geometric-repack.auto::
+	This integer config option controls how often the `geometric-repack`
+	task should be run as part of `git maintenance run --auto`. If zero,
+	then the `geometric-repack` task will not run with the `--auto`
+	option. A negative value will force the task to run every time.
+	Otherwise, a positive value implies the command should run either when
+	there are packfiles that need to be merged together to retain the
+	geometric progression, or when there are at least this many loose
+	objects that would be written into a new packfile. The default value is
+	100.
+
 maintenance.reflog-expire.auto::
 	This integer config option controls how often the `reflog-expire` task
 	should be run as part of `git maintenance run --auto`. If zero, then
diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index 026d3a1d714..2c9ecd464d2 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@
 #include "pack-objects.h"
 #include "path.h"
 #include "reflog.h"
+#include "repack.h"
 #include "rerere.h"
 #include "blob.h"
 #include "tree.h"
@@ -254,6 +255,7 @@ enum maintenance_task_label {
 	TASK_PREFETCH,
 	TASK_LOOSE_OBJECTS,
 	TASK_INCREMENTAL_REPACK,
+	TASK_GEOMETRIC_REPACK,
 	TASK_GC,
 	TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH,
 	TASK_PACK_REFS,
@@ -1566,6 +1568,101 @@ static int maintenance_task_incremental_repack(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts
 	return 0;
 }
 
+static int maintenance_task_geometric_repack(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
+					     struct gc_config *cfg)
+{
+	struct pack_geometry geometry = {
+		.split_factor = 2,
+	};
+	struct pack_objects_args po_args = {
+		.local = 1,
+	};
+	struct existing_packs existing_packs = EXISTING_PACKS_INIT;
+	struct string_list kept_packs = STRING_LIST_INIT_DUP;
+	struct child_process child = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
+	int ret;
+
+	existing_packs.repo = the_repository;
+	existing_packs_collect(&existing_packs, &kept_packs);
+	pack_geometry_init(&geometry, &existing_packs, &po_args);
+	pack_geometry_split(&geometry);
+
+	child.git_cmd = 1;
+
+	strvec_pushl(&child.args, "repack", "-d", "-l", NULL);
+	if (geometry.split < geometry.pack_nr)
+		strvec_push(&child.args, "--geometric=2");
+	else
+		add_repack_all_option(cfg, NULL, &child.args);
+	if (opts->quiet)
+		strvec_push(&child.args, "--quiet");
+	if (the_repository->settings.core_multi_pack_index)
+		strvec_push(&child.args, "--write-midx");
+
+	if (run_command(&child)) {
+		ret = error(_("failed to perform geometric repack"));
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	ret = 0;
+
+out:
+	existing_packs_release(&existing_packs);
+	pack_geometry_release(&geometry);
+	return ret;
+}
+
+static int geometric_repack_auto_condition(struct gc_config *cfg UNUSED)
+{
+	struct pack_geometry geometry = {
+		.split_factor = 2,
+	};
+	struct pack_objects_args po_args = {
+		.local = 1,
+	};
+	struct existing_packs existing_packs = EXISTING_PACKS_INIT;
+	struct string_list kept_packs = STRING_LIST_INIT_DUP;
+	int auto_value = 100;
+	int ret;
+
+	repo_config_get_int(the_repository, "maintenance.geometric-repack.auto",
+			    &auto_value);
+	if (!auto_value)
+		return 0;
+	if (auto_value < 0)
+		return 1;
+
+	existing_packs.repo = the_repository;
+	existing_packs_collect(&existing_packs, &kept_packs);
+	pack_geometry_init(&geometry, &existing_packs, &po_args);
+	pack_geometry_split(&geometry);
+
+	/*
+	 * When we'd merge at least two packs with one another we always
+	 * perform the repack.
+	 */
+	if (geometry.split) {
+		ret = 1;
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	/*
+	 * Otherwise, we estimate the number of loose objects to determine
+	 * whether we want to create a new packfile or not.
+	 */
+	if (too_many_loose_objects(auto_value)) {
+		ret = 1;
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	ret = 0;
+
+out:
+	existing_packs_release(&existing_packs);
+	pack_geometry_release(&geometry);
+	return ret;
+}
+
 typedef int (*maintenance_task_fn)(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 				   struct gc_config *cfg);
 typedef int (*maintenance_auto_fn)(struct gc_config *cfg);
@@ -1608,6 +1705,11 @@ static const struct maintenance_task tasks[] = {
 		.background = maintenance_task_incremental_repack,
 		.auto_condition = incremental_repack_auto_condition,
 	},
+	[TASK_GEOMETRIC_REPACK] = {
+		.name = "geometric-repack",
+		.background = maintenance_task_geometric_repack,
+		.auto_condition = geometric_repack_auto_condition,
+	},
 	[TASK_GC] = {
 		.name = "gc",
 		.foreground = maintenance_task_gc_foreground,
diff --git a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
index ddd273d8dc2..ace0ba83002 100755
--- a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
+++ b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
@@ -465,6 +465,144 @@ test_expect_success 'maintenance.incremental-repack.auto (when config is unset)'
 	)
 '
 
+run_and_verify_geometric_pack () {
+	EXPECTED_PACKS="$1" &&
+
+	# Verify that we perform a geometric repack.
+	rm -f "trace2.txt" &&
+	GIT_TRACE2_EVENT="$(pwd)/trace2.txt" \
+		git maintenance run --task=geometric-repack 2>/dev/null &&
+	test_subcommand git repack -d -l --geometric=2 \
+		--quiet --write-midx <trace2.txt &&
+
+	# Verify that the number of packfiles matches our expectation.
+	ls -l .git/objects/pack/*.pack >packfiles &&
+	test_line_count = "$EXPECTED_PACKS" packfiles &&
+
+	# And verify that there are no loose objects anymore.
+	git count-objects -v >count &&
+	test_grep '^count: 0$' count
+}
+
+test_expect_success 'geometric repacking task' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		git config set maintenance.auto false &&
+		test_commit initial &&
+
+		# The initial repack causes an all-into-one repack.
+		GIT_TRACE2_EVENT="$(pwd)/initial-repack.txt" \
+			git maintenance run --task=geometric-repack 2>/dev/null &&
+		test_subcommand git repack -d -l --cruft --cruft-expiration=2.weeks.ago \
+			--quiet --write-midx <initial-repack.txt &&
+
+		# Repacking should now cause a no-op geometric repack because
+		# no packfiles need to be combined.
+		ls -l .git/objects/pack >before &&
+		run_and_verify_geometric_pack 1 &&
+		ls -l .git/objects/pack >after &&
+		test_cmp before after &&
+
+		# This incremental change creates a new packfile that only
+		# soaks up loose objects. The packfiles are not getting merged
+		# at this point.
+		test_commit loose &&
+		run_and_verify_geometric_pack 2 &&
+
+		# Both packfiles have 3 objects, so the next run would cause us
+		# to merge all packfiles together. This should be turned into
+		# an all-into-one-repack.
+		GIT_TRACE2_EVENT="$(pwd)/all-into-one-repack.txt" \
+			git maintenance run --task=geometric-repack 2>/dev/null &&
+		test_subcommand git repack -d -l --cruft --cruft-expiration=2.weeks.ago \
+			--quiet --write-midx <all-into-one-repack.txt &&
+
+		# The geometric repack soaks up unreachable objects.
+		echo blob-1 | git hash-object -w --stdin -t blob &&
+		run_and_verify_geometric_pack 2 &&
+
+		# A second unreachable object should be written into another packfile.
+		echo blob-2 | git hash-object -w --stdin -t blob &&
+		run_and_verify_geometric_pack 3 &&
+
+		# And these two small packs should now be merged via the
+		# geometric repack. The large packfile should remain intact.
+		run_and_verify_geometric_pack 2 &&
+
+		# If we now add two more objects and repack twice we should
+		# then see another all-into-one repack. This time around
+		# though, as we have unreachable objects, we should also see a
+		# cruft pack.
+		echo blob-3 | git hash-object -w --stdin -t blob &&
+		echo blob-4 | git hash-object -w --stdin -t blob &&
+		run_and_verify_geometric_pack 3 &&
+		GIT_TRACE2_EVENT="$(pwd)/cruft-repack.txt" \
+			git maintenance run --task=geometric-repack 2>/dev/null &&
+		test_subcommand git repack -d -l --cruft --cruft-expiration=2.weeks.ago \
+			--quiet --write-midx <cruft-repack.txt &&
+		ls .git/objects/pack/*.pack >packs &&
+		test_line_count = 2 packs &&
+		ls .git/objects/pack/*.mtimes >cruft &&
+		test_line_count = 1 cruft
+	)
+'
+
+test_geometric_repack_needed () {
+	NEEDED="$1"
+	GEOMETRIC_CONFIG="$2" &&
+	rm -f trace2.txt &&
+	GIT_TRACE2_EVENT="$(pwd)/trace2.txt" \
+		git ${GEOMETRIC_CONFIG:+-c maintenance.geometric-repack.$GEOMETRIC_CONFIG} \
+		maintenance run --auto --task=geometric-repack 2>/dev/null &&
+	case "$NEEDED" in
+	true)
+		test_grep "\[\"git\",\"repack\"," trace2.txt;;
+	false)
+		! test_grep "\[\"git\",\"repack\"," trace2.txt;;
+	*)
+		BUG "invalid parameter: $NEEDED";;
+	esac
+}
+
+test_expect_success 'geometric repacking with --auto' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+
+		# An empty repository does not need repacking, except when
+		# explicitly told to do it.
+		test_geometric_repack_needed false &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed false auto=0 &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed false auto=1 &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed true auto=-1 &&
+
+		test_oid_init &&
+
+		# Loose objects cause a repack when crossing the limit. Note
+		# that the number of objects gets extrapolated by having a look
+		# at the "objects/17/" shard.
+		test_commit "$(test_oid blob17_1)" &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed false &&
+		test_commit "$(test_oid blob17_2)" &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed false auto=257 &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed true auto=256 &&
+
+		# Force another repack.
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed true auto=-1 &&
+
+		# We now have two packfiles that would be merged together. As
+		# such, the repack should always happen unless the user has
+		# disabled the auto task.
+		test_geometric_repack_needed false auto=0 &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed true auto=9000
+	)
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'pack-refs task' '
 	for n in $(test_seq 1 5)
 	do

diff --git a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
index 0d76693fee..2b5141196f 100755
--- a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
+++ b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
@@ -501,6 +501,7 @@ test_expect_success 'geometric repacking task' '
 		# Repacking should now cause a no-op geometric repack because
 		# no packfiles need to be combined.
 		ls -l .git/objects/pack >before &&
+		sleep 60 &&
 		run_and_verify_geometric_pack 1 &&
 		ls -l .git/objects/pack >after &&
 		test_cmp before after &&

though if we are going to be picky about timestamps, it probably makes
sense to use a higher resolution. Sadly I don't think there's a portable
way to do that with "ls", and "stat" is probably likewise something we
can't assume. I'd turn to perl, but I know you've been trying to avoid
depending on it. You can hack around it with:

  test-tool chmtime -v +0 .git/objects/pack/*

for this case, I'd think.

-Peff

diff --git a/repack-midx.c b/repack-midx.c
index 6f6202c5bcc..efa47bb55b5 100644
--- a/repack-midx.c
+++ b/repack-midx.c
@@ -285,6 +285,35 @@ static void remove_redundant_bitmaps(struct string_list *include,
 	strbuf_release(&path);
 }
 
+static bool midx_needs_repack(const struct repack_write_midx_opts *opts,
+			      const struct string_list *include)
+{
+	struct strset set = STRSET_INIT;
+	struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT;
+	bool needs_repack;
+
+	if (opts->existing->midx_packs.nr != include->nr)
+		return true;
+
+	for (size_t i = 0; i < opts->existing->midx_packs.nr; i++) {
+		const char *item = opts->existing->midx_packs.items[i].string;
+
+		strbuf_reset(&buf);
+		strbuf_addstr(&buf, item);
+		strbuf_strip_suffix(&buf, ".pack");
+		strbuf_addstr(&buf, ".idx");
+
+		strset_add(&set, buf.buf);
+	}
+
+	needs_repack = false;
+	for (size_t i = 0; i < include->nr && !needs_repack; i++)
+		needs_repack = !strset_contains(&set, include->items[i].string);
+
+	strset_clear(&set);
+	return needs_repack;
+}
+
 int write_midx_included_packs(struct repack_write_midx_opts *opts)
 {
 	struct child_process cmd = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
@@ -295,7 +324,7 @@ int write_midx_included_packs(struct repack_write_midx_opts *opts)
 	int ret = 0;
 
 	midx_included_packs(&include, opts);
-	if (!include.nr)
+	if (!include.nr || !midx_needs_repack(opts, &include))
 		goto done;
 
 	cmd.in = -1;

Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc, builtin/gc.c, t/t7900-maintenance.sh

diff --git a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
index 26dc5de423f..45fdafc2c63 100644
--- a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
@@ -86,6 +86,11 @@ maintenance.geometric-repack.auto::
 	objects that would be written into a new packfile. The default value is
 	100.
 
+maintenance.geometric-repack.splitFactor::
+	This integer config option controls the factor used for the geometric
+	sequence. See the `--geometric=` option in linkgit:git-repack[1] for
+	more details. Defaults to `2`.
+
 maintenance.reflog-expire.auto::
 	This integer config option controls how often the `reflog-expire` task
 	should be run as part of `git maintenance run --auto`. If zero, then
diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index 2c9ecd464d2..fb1a82e0304 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -1582,6 +1582,9 @@ static int maintenance_task_geometric_repack(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 	struct child_process child = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
 	int ret;
 
+	repo_config_get_int(the_repository, "maintenance.geometric-repack.splitFactor",
+			    &geometry.split_factor);
+
 	existing_packs.repo = the_repository;
 	existing_packs_collect(&existing_packs, &kept_packs);
 	pack_geometry_init(&geometry, &existing_packs, &po_args);
@@ -1591,7 +1594,8 @@ static int maintenance_task_geometric_repack(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 
 	strvec_pushl(&child.args, "repack", "-d", "-l", NULL);
 	if (geometry.split < geometry.pack_nr)
-		strvec_push(&child.args, "--geometric=2");
+		strvec_pushf(&child.args, "--geometric=%d",
+			     geometry.split_factor);
 	else
 		add_repack_all_option(cfg, NULL, &child.args);
 	if (opts->quiet)
@@ -1632,6 +1636,9 @@ static int geometric_repack_auto_condition(struct gc_config *cfg UNUSED)
 	if (auto_value < 0)
 		return 1;
 
+	repo_config_get_int(the_repository, "maintenance.geometric-repack.splitFactor",
+			    &geometry.split_factor);
+
 	existing_packs.repo = the_repository;
 	existing_packs_collect(&existing_packs, &kept_packs);
 	pack_geometry_init(&geometry, &existing_packs, &po_args);
diff --git a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
index ace0ba83002..e0352fd1965 100755
--- a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
+++ b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
@@ -603,6 +603,38 @@ test_expect_success 'geometric repacking with --auto' '
 	)
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'geometric repacking honors configured split factor' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		git config set maintenance.auto false &&
+
+		# Create three different packs with 9, 2 and 1 object, respectively.
+		# This is done so that only a subset of packs would be merged
+		# together so that we can verify that `git repack` receives the
+		# correct geometric factor.
+		for i in $(test_seq 9)
+		do
+			echo first-$i | git hash-object -w --stdin -t blob || return 1
+		done &&
+		git repack --geometric=2 -d &&
+
+		for i in $(test_seq 2)
+		do
+			echo second-$i | git hash-object -w --stdin -t blob || return 1
+		done &&
+		git repack --geometric=2 -d &&
+
+		echo third | git hash-object -w --stdin -t blob &&
+		git repack --geometric=2 -d &&
+
+		test_geometric_repack_needed false splitFactor=2 &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed true splitFactor=3 &&
+		test_subcommand git repack -d -l --geometric=3 --quiet --write-midx <trace2.txt
+	)
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'pack-refs task' '
 	for n in $(test_seq 1 5)
 	do

builtin/gc.c, t/t7900-maintenance.sh

diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index fb1a82e0304..726d944d3bd 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -1855,6 +1855,13 @@ static const struct maintenance_strategy incremental_strategy = {
 	},
 };
 
+static struct maintenance_strategy parse_maintenance_strategy(const char *name)
+{
+	if (!strcasecmp(name, "incremental"))
+		return incremental_strategy;
+	die(_("unknown maintenance strategy: '%s'"), name);
+}
+
 static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 				   const struct string_list *selected_tasks)
 {
@@ -1890,12 +1897,10 @@ static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 	 * override specific aspects of our strategy.
 	 */
 	if (opts->schedule) {
-		strategy = none_strategy;
-
-		if (!repo_config_get_string_tmp(the_repository, "maintenance.strategy", &config_str)) {
-			if (!strcasecmp(config_str, "incremental"))
-				strategy = incremental_strategy;
-		}
+		if (!repo_config_get_string_tmp(the_repository, "maintenance.strategy", &config_str))
+			strategy = parse_maintenance_strategy(config_str);
+		else
+			strategy = none_strategy;
 	} else {
 		strategy = default_strategy;
 	}
diff --git a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
index e0352fd1965..0fb917dd7b7 100755
--- a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
+++ b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
@@ -1263,6 +1263,11 @@ test_expect_success 'fails when running outside of a repository' '
 	nongit test_must_fail git maintenance unregister
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'fails when configured to use an invalid strategy' '
+	test_must_fail git -c maintenance.strategy=invalid maintenance run --schedule=hourly 2>err &&
+	test_grep "unknown maintenance strategy: .invalid." err
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'register and unregister bare repo' '
 	test_when_finished "git config --global --unset-all maintenance.repo || :" &&
 	test_might_fail git config --global --unset-all maintenance.repo &&

diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index 726d944d3bd..0ba6e59de14 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -1835,23 +1835,37 @@ struct maintenance_strategy {
 };
 
 static const struct maintenance_strategy none_strategy = { 0 };
+
 static const struct maintenance_strategy default_strategy = {
 	.tasks = {
-		[TASK_GC].enabled = 1,
+		[TASK_GC] = {
+			.enabled = 1,
+		},
 	},
 };
+
 static const struct maintenance_strategy incremental_strategy = {
 	.tasks = {
-		[TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH].enabled = 1,
-		[TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH].schedule = SCHEDULE_HOURLY,
-		[TASK_PREFETCH].enabled = 1,
-		[TASK_PREFETCH].schedule = SCHEDULE_HOURLY,
-		[TASK_INCREMENTAL_REPACK].enabled = 1,
-		[TASK_INCREMENTAL_REPACK].schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
-		[TASK_LOOSE_OBJECTS].enabled = 1,
-		[TASK_LOOSE_OBJECTS].schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
-		[TASK_PACK_REFS].enabled = 1,
-		[TASK_PACK_REFS].schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
+		[TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH] = {
+			.enabled = 1,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_HOURLY,
+		},
+		[TASK_PREFETCH] = {
+			.enabled = 1,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_HOURLY,
+		},
+		[TASK_INCREMENTAL_REPACK] = {
+			.enabled = 1,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
+		},
+		[TASK_LOOSE_OBJECTS] = {
+			.enabled = 1,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
+		},
+		[TASK_PACK_REFS] = {
+			.enabled = 1,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
+		},
 	},
 };
 

diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index 0ba6e59de1..6cc4f98c7a 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -1827,9 +1827,16 @@ static int maintenance_run_tasks(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 	return result;
 }
 
+enum maintenance_type {
+	/* As invoked via `git maintenance run --schedule=`. */
+	MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED = (1 << 0),
+	/* As invoked via `git maintenance run` and with `--auto`. */
+	MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL    = (1 << 1),
+};
+
 struct maintenance_strategy {
 	struct {
-		int enabled;
+		unsigned type;
 		enum schedule_priority schedule;
 	} tasks[TASK__COUNT];
 };
@@ -1839,7 +1846,7 @@ static const struct maintenance_strategy none_strategy = { 0 };
 static const struct maintenance_strategy default_strategy = {
 	.tasks = {
 		[TASK_GC] = {
-			.enabled = 1,
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
 		},
 	},
 };
@@ -1847,23 +1854,23 @@ static const struct maintenance_strategy default_strategy = {
 static const struct maintenance_strategy incremental_strategy = {
 	.tasks = {
 		[TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH] = {
-			.enabled = 1,
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
 			.schedule = SCHEDULE_HOURLY,
 		},
 		[TASK_PREFETCH] = {
-			.enabled = 1,
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
 			.schedule = SCHEDULE_HOURLY,
 		},
 		[TASK_INCREMENTAL_REPACK] = {
-			.enabled = 1,
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
 			.schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
 		},
 		[TASK_LOOSE_OBJECTS] = {
-			.enabled = 1,
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
 			.schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
 		},
 		[TASK_PACK_REFS] = {
-			.enabled = 1,
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
 			.schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
 		},
 	},
@@ -1881,6 +1888,7 @@ static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 {
 	struct strbuf config_name = STRBUF_INIT;
 	struct maintenance_strategy strategy;
+	enum maintenance_type type;
 	const char *config_str;
 
 	/*
@@ -1915,8 +1923,10 @@ static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 			strategy = parse_maintenance_strategy(config_str);
 		else
 			strategy = none_strategy;
+		type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED;
 	} else {
 		strategy = default_strategy;
+		type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL;
 	}
 
 	for (size_t i = 0; i < TASK__COUNT; i++) {
@@ -1926,8 +1936,8 @@ static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 		strbuf_addf(&config_name, "maintenance.%s.enabled",
 			    tasks[i].name);
 		if (!repo_config_get_bool(the_repository, config_name.buf, &config_value))
-			strategy.tasks[i].enabled = config_value;
-		if (!strategy.tasks[i].enabled)
+			strategy.tasks[i].type = config_value ? type : 0;
+		if (!(strategy.tasks[i].type & type))
 			continue;
 
 		if (opts->schedule) {

Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc, builtin/gc.c, t/t7900-maintenance.sh

diff --git a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
index 45fdafc2c63..b7e90a71a3d 100644
--- a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
@@ -16,19 +16,25 @@ detach.
 
 maintenance.strategy::
 	This string config option provides a way to specify one of a few
-	recommended schedules for background maintenance. This only affects
-	which tasks are run during `git maintenance run --schedule=X`
-	commands, provided no `--task=<task>` arguments are provided.
-	Further, if a `maintenance.<task>.schedule` config value is set,
-	then that value is used instead of the one provided by
-	`maintenance.strategy`. The possible strategy strings are:
+	recommended strategies for repository maintenance. This affects
+	which tasks are run during `git maintenance run`, provided no
+	`--task=<task>` arguments are provided. This setting impacts manual
+	maintenance, auto-maintenance as well as scheduled maintenance. The
+	tasks that run may be different depending on the maintenance type.
 +
-* `none`: This default setting implies no tasks are run at any schedule.
+The maintenance strategy can be further tweaked by setting
+`maintenance.<task>.enabled` and `maintenance.<task>.schedule`. If set, these
+values are used instead of the defaults provided by `maintenance.strategy`.
++
+The possible strategies are:
++
+* `none`: This strategy implies no tasks are run at all. This is the default
+  strategy for scheduled maintenance.
 * `incremental`: This setting optimizes for performing small maintenance
   activities that do not delete any data. This does not schedule the `gc`
   task, but runs the `prefetch` and `commit-graph` tasks hourly, the
   `loose-objects` and `incremental-repack` tasks daily, and the `pack-refs`
-  task weekly.
+  task weekly. Manual repository maintenance uses the `gc` task.
 
 maintenance.<task>.enabled::
 	This boolean config option controls whether the maintenance task
diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index 6cc4f98c7aa..3c0a9a2e5df 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -1873,6 +1873,20 @@ static const struct maintenance_strategy incremental_strategy = {
 			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
 			.schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
 		},
+		/*
+		 * Historically, the "incremental" strategy was only available
+		 * in the context of scheduled maintenance when set up via
+		 * "maintenance.strategy". We have later expanded that config
+		 * to also cover manual maintenance.
+		 *
+		 * To retain backwards compatibility with the previous status
+		 * quo we thus run git-gc(1) in case manual maintenance was
+		 * requested. This is the same as the default strategy, which
+		 * would have been in use beforehand.
+		 */
+		[TASK_GC] = {
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+		},
 	},
 };
 
@@ -1916,19 +1930,20 @@ static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 	 *   - Unscheduled maintenance uses our default strategy.
 	 *
 	 * Both of these are affected by the gitconfig though, which may
-	 * override specific aspects of our strategy.
+	 * override specific aspects of our strategy. Furthermore, both
+	 * strategies can be overridden by setting "maintenance.strategy".
 	 */
 	if (opts->schedule) {
-		if (!repo_config_get_string_tmp(the_repository, "maintenance.strategy", &config_str))
-			strategy = parse_maintenance_strategy(config_str);
-		else
-			strategy = none_strategy;
+		strategy = none_strategy;
 		type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED;
 	} else {
 		strategy = default_strategy;
 		type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL;
 	}
 
+	if (!repo_config_get_string_tmp(the_repository, "maintenance.strategy", &config_str))
+		strategy = parse_maintenance_strategy(config_str);
+
 	for (size_t i = 0; i < TASK__COUNT; i++) {
 		int config_value;
 
diff --git a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
index 0fb917dd7b7..5219bc17a69 100755
--- a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
+++ b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
@@ -886,6 +886,46 @@ test_expect_success 'maintenance.strategy inheritance' '
 		<modified-daily.txt
 '
 
+test_strategy () {
+	STRATEGY="$1"
+	shift
+
+	cat >expect &&
+	rm -f trace2.txt &&
+	GIT_TRACE2_EVENT="$(pwd)/trace2.txt" \
+		git -c maintenance.strategy=$STRATEGY maintenance run --quiet "$@" &&
+	sed -n 's/{"event":"child_start","sid":"[^/"]*",.*,"argv":\["\(.*\)\"]}/\1/p' <trace2.txt |
+		sed 's/","/ /g'  >actual
+	test_cmp expect actual
+}
+
+test_expect_success 'maintenance.strategy is respected' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit initial &&
+
+		test_must_fail git -c maintenance.strategy=unknown maintenance run 2>err &&
+		test_grep "unknown maintenance strategy: .unknown." err &&
+
+		test_strategy incremental <<-\EOF &&
+		git pack-refs --all --prune
+		git reflog expire --all
+		git gc --quiet --no-detach --skip-foreground-tasks
+		EOF
+
+		test_strategy incremental --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF
+		git pack-refs --all --prune
+		git prune-packed --quiet
+		git multi-pack-index write --no-progress
+		git multi-pack-index expire --no-progress
+		git multi-pack-index repack --no-progress --batch-size=1
+		git commit-graph write --split --reachable --no-progress
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'register and unregister' '
 	test_when_finished git config --global --unset-all maintenance.repo &&
 

Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc, builtin/gc.c, t/t7900-maintenance.sh

diff --git a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
index b7e90a71a3d..b2bacdc8220 100644
--- a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@ The possible strategies are:
 +
 * `none`: This strategy implies no tasks are run at all. This is the default
   strategy for scheduled maintenance.
+* `gc`: This strategy runs the `gc` task. This is the default strategy for
+  manual maintenance.
 * `incremental`: This setting optimizes for performing small maintenance
   activities that do not delete any data. This does not schedule the `gc`
   task, but runs the `prefetch` and `commit-graph` tasks hourly, the
diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index 3c0a9a2e5df..8cab1450095 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -1843,10 +1843,11 @@ struct maintenance_strategy {
 
 static const struct maintenance_strategy none_strategy = { 0 };
 
-static const struct maintenance_strategy default_strategy = {
+static const struct maintenance_strategy gc_strategy = {
 	.tasks = {
 		[TASK_GC] = {
-			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
 		},
 	},
 };
@@ -1894,6 +1895,8 @@ static struct maintenance_strategy parse_maintenance_strategy(const char *name)
 {
 	if (!strcasecmp(name, "incremental"))
 		return incremental_strategy;
+	if (!strcasecmp(name, "gc"))
+		return gc_strategy;
 	die(_("unknown maintenance strategy: '%s'"), name);
 }
 
@@ -1937,7 +1940,7 @@ static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 		strategy = none_strategy;
 		type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED;
 	} else {
-		strategy = default_strategy;
+		strategy = gc_strategy;
 		type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL;
 	}
 
diff --git a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
index 5219bc17a69..85e0cea4d96 100755
--- a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
+++ b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
@@ -915,7 +915,7 @@ test_expect_success 'maintenance.strategy is respected' '
 		git gc --quiet --no-detach --skip-foreground-tasks
 		EOF
 
-		test_strategy incremental --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF
+		test_strategy incremental --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF &&
 		git pack-refs --all --prune
 		git prune-packed --quiet
 		git multi-pack-index write --no-progress
@@ -923,6 +923,18 @@ test_expect_success 'maintenance.strategy is respected' '
 		git multi-pack-index repack --no-progress --batch-size=1
 		git commit-graph write --split --reachable --no-progress
 		EOF
+
+		test_strategy gc <<-\EOF &&
+		git pack-refs --all --prune
+		git reflog expire --all
+		git gc --quiet --no-detach --skip-foreground-tasks
+		EOF
+
+		test_strategy gc --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF
+		git pack-refs --all --prune
+		git reflog expire --all
+		git gc --quiet --no-detach --skip-foreground-tasks
+		EOF
 	)
 '
 

Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc, builtin/gc.c, t/t7900-maintenance.sh

diff --git a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
index b2bacdc8220..d0c38f03fab 100644
--- a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
@@ -32,6 +32,15 @@ The possible strategies are:
   strategy for scheduled maintenance.
 * `gc`: This strategy runs the `gc` task. This is the default strategy for
   manual maintenance.
+* `geometric`: This strategy performs geometric repacking of packfiles and
+  keeps auxiliary data structures up-to-date. The strategy expires data in the
+  reflog and removes worktrees that cannot be located anymore. When the
+  geometric repacking strategy would decide to do an all-into-one repack, then
+  the strategy generates a cruft pack for all unreachable objects. Objects that
+  are already part of a cruft pack will be expired.
++
+This repacking strategy is a full replacement for the `gc` strategy and is
+recommended for large repositories.
 * `incremental`: This setting optimizes for performing small maintenance
   activities that do not delete any data. This does not schedule the `gc`
   task, but runs the `prefetch` and `commit-graph` tasks hourly, the
diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index 8cab1450095..19be3f87e13 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -1891,12 +1891,43 @@ static const struct maintenance_strategy incremental_strategy = {
 	},
 };
 
+static const struct maintenance_strategy geometric_strategy = {
+	.tasks = {
+		[TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH] = {
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_HOURLY,
+		},
+		[TASK_GEOMETRIC_REPACK] = {
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
+		},
+		[TASK_PACK_REFS] = {
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
+		},
+		[TASK_RERERE_GC] = {
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
+		},
+		[TASK_REFLOG_EXPIRE] = {
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
+		},
+		[TASK_WORKTREE_PRUNE] = {
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
+		},
+	},
+};
+
 static struct maintenance_strategy parse_maintenance_strategy(const char *name)
 {
 	if (!strcasecmp(name, "incremental"))
 		return incremental_strategy;
 	if (!strcasecmp(name, "gc"))
 		return gc_strategy;
+	if (!strcasecmp(name, "geometric"))
+		return geometric_strategy;
 	die(_("unknown maintenance strategy: '%s'"), name);
 }
 
diff --git a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
index 85e0cea4d96..0d76693feec 100755
--- a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
+++ b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
@@ -930,11 +930,29 @@ test_expect_success 'maintenance.strategy is respected' '
 		git gc --quiet --no-detach --skip-foreground-tasks
 		EOF
 
-		test_strategy gc --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF
+		test_strategy gc --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF &&
 		git pack-refs --all --prune
 		git reflog expire --all
 		git gc --quiet --no-detach --skip-foreground-tasks
 		EOF
+
+		test_strategy geometric <<-\EOF &&
+		git pack-refs --all --prune
+		git reflog expire --all
+		git repack -d -l --geometric=2 --quiet --write-midx
+		git commit-graph write --split --reachable --no-progress
+		git worktree prune --expire 3.months.ago
+		git rerere gc
+		EOF
+
+		test_strategy geometric --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF
+		git pack-refs --all --prune
+		git reflog expire --all
+		git repack -d -l --geometric=2 --quiet --write-midx
+		git commit-graph write --split --reachable --no-progress
+		git worktree prune --expire 3.months.ago
+		git rerere gc
+		EOF
 	)
 '
 

diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index e19e13d9788..e9772eb3a30 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -55,7 +55,6 @@ static const char * const builtin_gc_usage[] = {
 };
 
 static timestamp_t gc_log_expire_time;
-static struct strvec repack = STRVEC_INIT;
 static struct tempfile *pidfile;
 static struct lock_file log_lock;
 static struct string_list pack_garbage = STRING_LIST_INIT_DUP;
@@ -618,48 +617,50 @@ static uint64_t estimate_repack_memory(struct gc_config *cfg,
 	return os_cache + heap;
 }
 
-static int keep_one_pack(struct string_list_item *item, void *data UNUSED)
+static int keep_one_pack(struct string_list_item *item, void *data)
 {
-	strvec_pushf(&repack, "--keep-pack=%s", basename(item->string));
+	struct strvec *args = data;
+	strvec_pushf(args, "--keep-pack=%s", basename(item->string));
 	return 0;
 }
 
 static void add_repack_all_option(struct gc_config *cfg,
-				  struct string_list *keep_pack)
+				  struct string_list *keep_pack,
+				  struct strvec *args)
 {
 	if (cfg->prune_expire && !strcmp(cfg->prune_expire, "now")
 		&& !(cfg->cruft_packs && cfg->repack_expire_to))
-		strvec_push(&repack, "-a");
+		strvec_push(args, "-a");
 	else if (cfg->cruft_packs) {
-		strvec_push(&repack, "--cruft");
+		strvec_push(args, "--cruft");
 		if (cfg->prune_expire)
-			strvec_pushf(&repack, "--cruft-expiration=%s", cfg->prune_expire);
+			strvec_pushf(args, "--cruft-expiration=%s", cfg->prune_expire);
 		if (cfg->max_cruft_size)
-			strvec_pushf(&repack, "--max-cruft-size=%lu",
+			strvec_pushf(args, "--max-cruft-size=%lu",
 				     cfg->max_cruft_size);
 		if (cfg->repack_expire_to)
-			strvec_pushf(&repack, "--expire-to=%s", cfg->repack_expire_to);
+			strvec_pushf(args, "--expire-to=%s", cfg->repack_expire_to);
 	} else {
-		strvec_push(&repack, "-A");
+		strvec_push(args, "-A");
 		if (cfg->prune_expire)
-			strvec_pushf(&repack, "--unpack-unreachable=%s", cfg->prune_expire);
+			strvec_pushf(args, "--unpack-unreachable=%s", cfg->prune_expire);
 	}
 
 	if (keep_pack)
-		for_each_string_list(keep_pack, keep_one_pack, NULL);
+		for_each_string_list(keep_pack, keep_one_pack, args);
 
 	if (cfg->repack_filter && *cfg->repack_filter)
-		strvec_pushf(&repack, "--filter=%s", cfg->repack_filter);
+		strvec_pushf(args, "--filter=%s", cfg->repack_filter);
 	if (cfg->repack_filter_to && *cfg->repack_filter_to)
-		strvec_pushf(&repack, "--filter-to=%s", cfg->repack_filter_to);
+		strvec_pushf(args, "--filter-to=%s", cfg->repack_filter_to);
 }
 
-static void add_repack_incremental_option(void)
+static void add_repack_incremental_option(struct strvec *args)
 {
-	strvec_push(&repack, "--no-write-bitmap-index");
+	strvec_push(args, "--no-write-bitmap-index");
 }
 
-static int need_to_gc(struct gc_config *cfg)
+static int need_to_gc(struct gc_config *cfg, struct strvec *repack_args)
 {
 	/*
 	 * Setting gc.auto to 0 or negative can disable the
@@ -700,10 +701,10 @@ static int need_to_gc(struct gc_config *cfg)
 				string_list_clear(&keep_pack, 0);
 		}
 
-		add_repack_all_option(cfg, &keep_pack);
+		add_repack_all_option(cfg, &keep_pack, repack_args);
 		string_list_clear(&keep_pack, 0);
 	} else if (too_many_loose_objects(cfg))
-		add_repack_incremental_option();
+		add_repack_incremental_option(repack_args);
 	else
 		return 0;
 
@@ -852,6 +853,7 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 	int keep_largest_pack = -1;
 	int skip_foreground_tasks = 0;
 	timestamp_t dummy;
+	struct strvec repack_args = STRVEC_INIT;
 	struct maintenance_run_opts opts = MAINTENANCE_RUN_OPTS_INIT;
 	struct gc_config cfg = GC_CONFIG_INIT;
 	const char *prune_expire_sentinel = "sentinel";
@@ -891,7 +893,7 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 	show_usage_with_options_if_asked(argc, argv,
 					 builtin_gc_usage, builtin_gc_options);
 
-	strvec_pushl(&repack, "repack", "-d", "-l", NULL);
+	strvec_pushl(&repack_args, "repack", "-d", "-l", NULL);
 
 	gc_config(&cfg);
 
@@ -914,14 +916,14 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 		die(_("failed to parse prune expiry value %s"), cfg.prune_expire);
 
 	if (aggressive) {
-		strvec_push(&repack, "-f");
+		strvec_push(&repack_args, "-f");
 		if (cfg.aggressive_depth > 0)
-			strvec_pushf(&repack, "--depth=%d", cfg.aggressive_depth);
+			strvec_pushf(&repack_args, "--depth=%d", cfg.aggressive_depth);
 		if (cfg.aggressive_window > 0)
-			strvec_pushf(&repack, "--window=%d", cfg.aggressive_window);
+			strvec_pushf(&repack_args, "--window=%d", cfg.aggressive_window);
 	}
 	if (opts.quiet)
-		strvec_push(&repack, "-q");
+		strvec_push(&repack_args, "-q");
 
 	if (opts.auto_flag) {
 		if (cfg.detach_auto && opts.detach < 0)
@@ -930,7 +932,7 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 		/*
 		 * Auto-gc should be least intrusive as possible.
 		 */
-		if (!need_to_gc(&cfg)) {
+		if (!need_to_gc(&cfg, &repack_args)) {
 			ret = 0;
 			goto out;
 		}
@@ -952,7 +954,7 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 			find_base_packs(&keep_pack, cfg.big_pack_threshold);
 		}
 
-		add_repack_all_option(&cfg, &keep_pack);
+		add_repack_all_option(&cfg, &keep_pack, &repack_args);
 		string_list_clear(&keep_pack, 0);
 	}
 
@@ -1014,9 +1016,9 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 
 		repack_cmd.git_cmd = 1;
 		repack_cmd.close_object_store = 1;
-		strvec_pushv(&repack_cmd.args, repack.v);
+		strvec_pushv(&repack_cmd.args, repack_args.v);
 		if (run_command(&repack_cmd))
-			die(FAILED_RUN, repack.v[0]);
+			die(FAILED_RUN, repack_args.v[0]);
 
 		if (cfg.prune_expire) {
 			struct child_process prune_cmd = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
@@ -1067,6 +1069,7 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 
 out:
 	maintenance_run_opts_release(&opts);
+	strvec_clear(&repack_args);
 	gc_config_release(&cfg);
 	return 0;
 }
@@ -1269,6 +1272,19 @@ static int maintenance_task_gc_background(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 	return run_command(&child);
 }
 
+static int gc_condition(struct gc_config *cfg)
+{
+	/*
+	 * Note that it's fine to drop the repack arguments here, as we execute
+	 * git-gc(1) as a separate child process anyway. So it knows to compute
+	 * these arguments again.
+	 */
+	struct strvec repack_args = STRVEC_INIT;
+	int ret = need_to_gc(cfg, &repack_args);
+	strvec_clear(&repack_args);
+	return ret;
+}
+
 static int prune_packed(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts)
 {
 	struct child_process child = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
@@ -1596,7 +1612,7 @@ static const struct maintenance_task tasks[] = {
 		.name = "gc",
 		.foreground = maintenance_task_gc_foreground,
 		.background = maintenance_task_gc_background,
-		.auto_condition = need_to_gc,
+		.auto_condition = gc_condition,
 	},
 	[TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH] = {
 		.name = "commit-graph",

diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index e9772eb3a30..026d3a1d714 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -447,7 +447,7 @@ static int rerere_gc_condition(struct gc_config *cfg UNUSED)
 	return should_gc;
 }
 
-static int too_many_loose_objects(struct gc_config *cfg)
+static int too_many_loose_objects(int limit)
 {
 	/*
 	 * Quickly check if a "gc" is needed, by estimating how
@@ -469,7 +469,7 @@ static int too_many_loose_objects(struct gc_config *cfg)
 	if (!dir)
 		return 0;
 
-	auto_threshold = DIV_ROUND_UP(cfg->gc_auto_threshold, 256);
+	auto_threshold = DIV_ROUND_UP(limit, 256);
 	while ((ent = readdir(dir)) != NULL) {
 		if (strspn(ent->d_name, "0123456789abcdef") != hexsz_loose ||
 		    ent->d_name[hexsz_loose] != '\0')
@@ -703,7 +703,7 @@ static int need_to_gc(struct gc_config *cfg, struct strvec *repack_args)
 
 		add_repack_all_option(cfg, &keep_pack, repack_args);
 		string_list_clear(&keep_pack, 0);
-	} else if (too_many_loose_objects(cfg))
+	} else if (too_many_loose_objects(cfg->gc_auto_threshold))
 		add_repack_incremental_option(repack_args);
 	else
 		return 0;
@@ -1057,7 +1057,7 @@ int cmd_gc(int argc,
 					     !opts.quiet && !daemonized ? COMMIT_GRAPH_WRITE_PROGRESS : 0,
 					     NULL);
 
-	if (opts.auto_flag && too_many_loose_objects(&cfg))
+	if (opts.auto_flag && too_many_loose_objects(cfg.gc_auto_threshold))
 		warning(_("There are too many unreachable loose objects; "
 			"run 'git prune' to remove them."));
 

Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc, builtin/gc.c, t/t7900-maintenance.sh

diff --git a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
index 2f719342183..26dc5de423f 100644
--- a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
@@ -75,6 +75,17 @@ maintenance.incremental-repack.auto::
 	number of pack-files not in the multi-pack-index is at least the value
 	of `maintenance.incremental-repack.auto`. The default value is 10.
 
+maintenance.geometric-repack.auto::
+	This integer config option controls how often the `geometric-repack`
+	task should be run as part of `git maintenance run --auto`. If zero,
+	then the `geometric-repack` task will not run with the `--auto`
+	option. A negative value will force the task to run every time.
+	Otherwise, a positive value implies the command should run either when
+	there are packfiles that need to be merged together to retain the
+	geometric progression, or when there are at least this many loose
+	objects that would be written into a new packfile. The default value is
+	100.
+
 maintenance.reflog-expire.auto::
 	This integer config option controls how often the `reflog-expire` task
 	should be run as part of `git maintenance run --auto`. If zero, then
diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index 026d3a1d714..2c9ecd464d2 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@
 #include "pack-objects.h"
 #include "path.h"
 #include "reflog.h"
+#include "repack.h"
 #include "rerere.h"
 #include "blob.h"
 #include "tree.h"
@@ -254,6 +255,7 @@ enum maintenance_task_label {
 	TASK_PREFETCH,
 	TASK_LOOSE_OBJECTS,
 	TASK_INCREMENTAL_REPACK,
+	TASK_GEOMETRIC_REPACK,
 	TASK_GC,
 	TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH,
 	TASK_PACK_REFS,
@@ -1566,6 +1568,101 @@ static int maintenance_task_incremental_repack(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts
 	return 0;
 }
 
+static int maintenance_task_geometric_repack(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
+					     struct gc_config *cfg)
+{
+	struct pack_geometry geometry = {
+		.split_factor = 2,
+	};
+	struct pack_objects_args po_args = {
+		.local = 1,
+	};
+	struct existing_packs existing_packs = EXISTING_PACKS_INIT;
+	struct string_list kept_packs = STRING_LIST_INIT_DUP;
+	struct child_process child = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
+	int ret;
+
+	existing_packs.repo = the_repository;
+	existing_packs_collect(&existing_packs, &kept_packs);
+	pack_geometry_init(&geometry, &existing_packs, &po_args);
+	pack_geometry_split(&geometry);
+
+	child.git_cmd = 1;
+
+	strvec_pushl(&child.args, "repack", "-d", "-l", NULL);
+	if (geometry.split < geometry.pack_nr)
+		strvec_push(&child.args, "--geometric=2");
+	else
+		add_repack_all_option(cfg, NULL, &child.args);
+	if (opts->quiet)
+		strvec_push(&child.args, "--quiet");
+	if (the_repository->settings.core_multi_pack_index)
+		strvec_push(&child.args, "--write-midx");
+
+	if (run_command(&child)) {
+		ret = error(_("failed to perform geometric repack"));
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	ret = 0;
+
+out:
+	existing_packs_release(&existing_packs);
+	pack_geometry_release(&geometry);
+	return ret;
+}
+
+static int geometric_repack_auto_condition(struct gc_config *cfg UNUSED)
+{
+	struct pack_geometry geometry = {
+		.split_factor = 2,
+	};
+	struct pack_objects_args po_args = {
+		.local = 1,
+	};
+	struct existing_packs existing_packs = EXISTING_PACKS_INIT;
+	struct string_list kept_packs = STRING_LIST_INIT_DUP;
+	int auto_value = 100;
+	int ret;
+
+	repo_config_get_int(the_repository, "maintenance.geometric-repack.auto",
+			    &auto_value);
+	if (!auto_value)
+		return 0;
+	if (auto_value < 0)
+		return 1;
+
+	existing_packs.repo = the_repository;
+	existing_packs_collect(&existing_packs, &kept_packs);
+	pack_geometry_init(&geometry, &existing_packs, &po_args);
+	pack_geometry_split(&geometry);
+
+	/*
+	 * When we'd merge at least two packs with one another we always
+	 * perform the repack.
+	 */
+	if (geometry.split) {
+		ret = 1;
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	/*
+	 * Otherwise, we estimate the number of loose objects to determine
+	 * whether we want to create a new packfile or not.
+	 */
+	if (too_many_loose_objects(auto_value)) {
+		ret = 1;
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	ret = 0;
+
+out:
+	existing_packs_release(&existing_packs);
+	pack_geometry_release(&geometry);
+	return ret;
+}
+
 typedef int (*maintenance_task_fn)(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 				   struct gc_config *cfg);
 typedef int (*maintenance_auto_fn)(struct gc_config *cfg);
@@ -1608,6 +1705,11 @@ static const struct maintenance_task tasks[] = {
 		.background = maintenance_task_incremental_repack,
 		.auto_condition = incremental_repack_auto_condition,
 	},
+	[TASK_GEOMETRIC_REPACK] = {
+		.name = "geometric-repack",
+		.background = maintenance_task_geometric_repack,
+		.auto_condition = geometric_repack_auto_condition,
+	},
 	[TASK_GC] = {
 		.name = "gc",
 		.foreground = maintenance_task_gc_foreground,
diff --git a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
index ddd273d8dc2..842829879d8 100755
--- a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
+++ b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
@@ -465,6 +465,144 @@ test_expect_success 'maintenance.incremental-repack.auto (when config is unset)'
 	)
 '
 
+run_and_verify_geometric_pack () {
+	EXPECTED_PACKS="$1" &&
+
+	# Verify that we perform a geometric repack.
+	rm -f "trace2.txt" &&
+	GIT_TRACE2_EVENT="$(pwd)/trace2.txt" \
+		git maintenance run --task=geometric-repack 2>/dev/null &&
+	test_subcommand git repack -d -l --geometric=2 \
+		--quiet --write-midx <trace2.txt &&
+
+	# Verify that the number of packfiles matches our expectation.
+	ls -l .git/objects/pack/*.pack >packfiles &&
+	test_line_count = "$EXPECTED_PACKS" packfiles &&
+
+	# And verify that there are no loose objects anymore.
+	git count-objects -v >count &&
+	test_grep '^count: 0$' count
+}
+
+test_expect_success 'geometric repacking task' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		git config set maintenance.auto false &&
+		test_commit initial &&
+
+		# The initial repack causes an all-into-one repack.
+		GIT_TRACE2_EVENT="$(pwd)/initial-repack.txt" \
+			git maintenance run --task=geometric-repack 2>/dev/null &&
+		test_subcommand git repack -d -l --cruft --cruft-expiration=2.weeks.ago \
+			--quiet --write-midx <initial-repack.txt &&
+
+		# Repacking should now cause a no-op geometric repack because
+		# no packfiles need to be combined.
+		ls -l .git/objects/pack/*.pack >before &&
+		run_and_verify_geometric_pack 1 &&
+		ls -l .git/objects/pack/*.pack >after &&
+		test_cmp before after &&
+
+		# This incremental change creates a new packfile that only
+		# soaks up loose objects. The packfiles are not getting merged
+		# at this point.
+		test_commit loose &&
+		run_and_verify_geometric_pack 2 &&
+
+		# Both packfiles have 3 objects, so the next run would cause us
+		# to merge all packfiles together. This should be turned into
+		# an all-into-one-repack.
+		GIT_TRACE2_EVENT="$(pwd)/all-into-one-repack.txt" \
+			git maintenance run --task=geometric-repack 2>/dev/null &&
+		test_subcommand git repack -d -l --cruft --cruft-expiration=2.weeks.ago \
+			--quiet --write-midx <all-into-one-repack.txt &&
+
+		# The geometric repack soaks up unreachable objects.
+		echo blob-1 | git hash-object -w --stdin -t blob &&
+		run_and_verify_geometric_pack 2 &&
+
+		# A second unreachable object should be written into another packfile.
+		echo blob-2 | git hash-object -w --stdin -t blob &&
+		run_and_verify_geometric_pack 3 &&
+
+		# And these two small packs should now be merged via the
+		# geometric repack. The large packfile should remain intact.
+		run_and_verify_geometric_pack 2 &&
+
+		# If we now add two more objects and repack twice we should
+		# then see another all-into-one repack. This time around
+		# though, as we have unreachable objects, we should also see a
+		# cruft pack.
+		echo blob-3 | git hash-object -w --stdin -t blob &&
+		echo blob-4 | git hash-object -w --stdin -t blob &&
+		run_and_verify_geometric_pack 3 &&
+		GIT_TRACE2_EVENT="$(pwd)/cruft-repack.txt" \
+			git maintenance run --task=geometric-repack 2>/dev/null &&
+		test_subcommand git repack -d -l --cruft --cruft-expiration=2.weeks.ago \
+			--quiet --write-midx <cruft-repack.txt &&
+		ls .git/objects/pack/*.pack >packs &&
+		test_line_count = 2 packs &&
+		ls .git/objects/pack/*.mtimes >cruft &&
+		test_line_count = 1 cruft
+	)
+'
+
+test_geometric_repack_needed () {
+	NEEDED="$1"
+	GEOMETRIC_CONFIG="$2" &&
+	rm -f trace2.txt &&
+	GIT_TRACE2_EVENT="$(pwd)/trace2.txt" \
+		git ${GEOMETRIC_CONFIG:+-c maintenance.geometric-repack.$GEOMETRIC_CONFIG} \
+		maintenance run --auto --task=geometric-repack 2>/dev/null &&
+	case "$NEEDED" in
+	true)
+		test_grep "\[\"git\",\"repack\"," trace2.txt;;
+	false)
+		! test_grep "\[\"git\",\"repack\"," trace2.txt;;
+	*)
+		BUG "invalid parameter: $NEEDED";;
+	esac
+}
+
+test_expect_success 'geometric repacking with --auto' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+
+		# An empty repository does not need repacking, except when
+		# explicitly told to do it.
+		test_geometric_repack_needed false &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed false auto=0 &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed false auto=1 &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed true auto=-1 &&
+
+		test_oid_init &&
+
+		# Loose objects cause a repack when crossing the limit. Note
+		# that the number of objects gets extrapolated by having a look
+		# at the "objects/17/" shard.
+		test_commit "$(test_oid blob17_1)" &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed false &&
+		test_commit "$(test_oid blob17_2)" &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed false auto=257 &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed true auto=256 &&
+
+		# Force another repack.
+		test_commit first &&
+		test_commit second &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed true auto=-1 &&
+
+		# We now have two packfiles that would be merged together. As
+		# such, the repack should always happen unless the user has
+		# disabled the auto task.
+		test_geometric_repack_needed false auto=0 &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed true auto=9000
+	)
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'pack-refs task' '
 	for n in $(test_seq 1 5)
 	do

Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc, builtin/gc.c, t/t7900-maintenance.sh

diff --git a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
index 26dc5de423f..45fdafc2c63 100644
--- a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
@@ -86,6 +86,11 @@ maintenance.geometric-repack.auto::
 	objects that would be written into a new packfile. The default value is
 	100.
 
+maintenance.geometric-repack.splitFactor::
+	This integer config option controls the factor used for the geometric
+	sequence. See the `--geometric=` option in linkgit:git-repack[1] for
+	more details. Defaults to `2`.
+
 maintenance.reflog-expire.auto::
 	This integer config option controls how often the `reflog-expire` task
 	should be run as part of `git maintenance run --auto`. If zero, then
diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index 2c9ecd464d2..fb1a82e0304 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -1582,6 +1582,9 @@ static int maintenance_task_geometric_repack(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 	struct child_process child = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
 	int ret;
 
+	repo_config_get_int(the_repository, "maintenance.geometric-repack.splitFactor",
+			    &geometry.split_factor);
+
 	existing_packs.repo = the_repository;
 	existing_packs_collect(&existing_packs, &kept_packs);
 	pack_geometry_init(&geometry, &existing_packs, &po_args);
@@ -1591,7 +1594,8 @@ static int maintenance_task_geometric_repack(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 
 	strvec_pushl(&child.args, "repack", "-d", "-l", NULL);
 	if (geometry.split < geometry.pack_nr)
-		strvec_push(&child.args, "--geometric=2");
+		strvec_pushf(&child.args, "--geometric=%d",
+			     geometry.split_factor);
 	else
 		add_repack_all_option(cfg, NULL, &child.args);
 	if (opts->quiet)
@@ -1632,6 +1636,9 @@ static int geometric_repack_auto_condition(struct gc_config *cfg UNUSED)
 	if (auto_value < 0)
 		return 1;
 
+	repo_config_get_int(the_repository, "maintenance.geometric-repack.splitFactor",
+			    &geometry.split_factor);
+
 	existing_packs.repo = the_repository;
 	existing_packs_collect(&existing_packs, &kept_packs);
 	pack_geometry_init(&geometry, &existing_packs, &po_args);
diff --git a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
index 842829879d8..8fda6b1a6f7 100755
--- a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
+++ b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
@@ -603,6 +603,38 @@ test_expect_success 'geometric repacking with --auto' '
 	)
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'geometric repacking honors configured split factor' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		git config set maintenance.auto false &&
+
+		# Create three different packs with 9, 2 and 1 object, respectively.
+		# This is done so that only a subset of packs would be merged
+		# together so that we can verify that `git repack` receives the
+		# correct geometric factor.
+		for i in $(test_seq 9)
+		do
+			echo first-$i | git hash-object -w --stdin -t blob || return 1
+		done &&
+		git repack --geometric=2 -d &&
+
+		for i in $(test_seq 2)
+		do
+			echo second-$i | git hash-object -w --stdin -t blob || return 1
+		done &&
+		git repack --geometric=2 -d &&
+
+		echo third | git hash-object -w --stdin -t blob &&
+		git repack --geometric=2 -d &&
+
+		test_geometric_repack_needed false splitFactor=2 &&
+		test_geometric_repack_needed true splitFactor=3 &&
+		test_subcommand git repack -d -l --geometric=3 --quiet --write-midx <trace2.txt
+	)
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'pack-refs task' '
 	for n in $(test_seq 1 5)
 	do

builtin/gc.c, t/t7900-maintenance.sh

diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index fb1a82e0304..726d944d3bd 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -1855,6 +1855,13 @@ static const struct maintenance_strategy incremental_strategy = {
 	},
 };
 
+static struct maintenance_strategy parse_maintenance_strategy(const char *name)
+{
+	if (!strcasecmp(name, "incremental"))
+		return incremental_strategy;
+	die(_("unknown maintenance strategy: '%s'"), name);
+}
+
 static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 				   const struct string_list *selected_tasks)
 {
@@ -1890,12 +1897,10 @@ static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 	 * override specific aspects of our strategy.
 	 */
 	if (opts->schedule) {
-		strategy = none_strategy;
-
-		if (!repo_config_get_string_tmp(the_repository, "maintenance.strategy", &config_str)) {
-			if (!strcasecmp(config_str, "incremental"))
-				strategy = incremental_strategy;
-		}
+		if (!repo_config_get_string_tmp(the_repository, "maintenance.strategy", &config_str))
+			strategy = parse_maintenance_strategy(config_str);
+		else
+			strategy = none_strategy;
 	} else {
 		strategy = default_strategy;
 	}
diff --git a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
index 8fda6b1a6f7..211350bf54e 100755
--- a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
+++ b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
@@ -1263,6 +1263,11 @@ test_expect_success 'fails when running outside of a repository' '
 	nongit test_must_fail git maintenance unregister
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'fails when configured to use an invalid strategy' '
+	test_must_fail git -c maintenance.strategy=invalid maintenance run --schedule=hourly 2>err &&
+	test_grep "unknown maintenance strategy: .invalid." err
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'register and unregister bare repo' '
 	test_when_finished "git config --global --unset-all maintenance.repo || :" &&
 	test_might_fail git config --global --unset-all maintenance.repo &&

diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index 726d944d3bd..0ba6e59de14 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -1835,23 +1835,37 @@ struct maintenance_strategy {
 };
 
 static const struct maintenance_strategy none_strategy = { 0 };
+
 static const struct maintenance_strategy default_strategy = {
 	.tasks = {
-		[TASK_GC].enabled = 1,
+		[TASK_GC] = {
+			.enabled = 1,
+		},
 	},
 };
+
 static const struct maintenance_strategy incremental_strategy = {
 	.tasks = {
-		[TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH].enabled = 1,
-		[TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH].schedule = SCHEDULE_HOURLY,
-		[TASK_PREFETCH].enabled = 1,
-		[TASK_PREFETCH].schedule = SCHEDULE_HOURLY,
-		[TASK_INCREMENTAL_REPACK].enabled = 1,
-		[TASK_INCREMENTAL_REPACK].schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
-		[TASK_LOOSE_OBJECTS].enabled = 1,
-		[TASK_LOOSE_OBJECTS].schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
-		[TASK_PACK_REFS].enabled = 1,
-		[TASK_PACK_REFS].schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
+		[TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH] = {
+			.enabled = 1,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_HOURLY,
+		},
+		[TASK_PREFETCH] = {
+			.enabled = 1,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_HOURLY,
+		},
+		[TASK_INCREMENTAL_REPACK] = {
+			.enabled = 1,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
+		},
+		[TASK_LOOSE_OBJECTS] = {
+			.enabled = 1,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
+		},
+		[TASK_PACK_REFS] = {
+			.enabled = 1,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
+		},
 	},
 };
 

diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index 0ba6e59de1..6cc4f98c7a 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -1827,9 +1827,16 @@ static int maintenance_run_tasks(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 	return result;
 }
 
+enum maintenance_type {
+	/* As invoked via `git maintenance run --schedule=`. */
+	MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED = (1 << 0),
+	/* As invoked via `git maintenance run` and with `--auto`. */
+	MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL    = (1 << 1),
+};
+
 struct maintenance_strategy {
 	struct {
-		int enabled;
+		unsigned type;
 		enum schedule_priority schedule;
 	} tasks[TASK__COUNT];
 };
@@ -1839,7 +1846,7 @@ static const struct maintenance_strategy none_strategy = { 0 };
 static const struct maintenance_strategy default_strategy = {
 	.tasks = {
 		[TASK_GC] = {
-			.enabled = 1,
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
 		},
 	},
 };
@@ -1847,23 +1854,23 @@ static const struct maintenance_strategy default_strategy = {
 static const struct maintenance_strategy incremental_strategy = {
 	.tasks = {
 		[TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH] = {
-			.enabled = 1,
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
 			.schedule = SCHEDULE_HOURLY,
 		},
 		[TASK_PREFETCH] = {
-			.enabled = 1,
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
 			.schedule = SCHEDULE_HOURLY,
 		},
 		[TASK_INCREMENTAL_REPACK] = {
-			.enabled = 1,
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
 			.schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
 		},
 		[TASK_LOOSE_OBJECTS] = {
-			.enabled = 1,
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
 			.schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
 		},
 		[TASK_PACK_REFS] = {
-			.enabled = 1,
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
 			.schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
 		},
 	},
@@ -1881,6 +1888,7 @@ static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 {
 	struct strbuf config_name = STRBUF_INIT;
 	struct maintenance_strategy strategy;
+	enum maintenance_type type;
 	const char *config_str;
 
 	/*
@@ -1915,8 +1923,10 @@ static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 			strategy = parse_maintenance_strategy(config_str);
 		else
 			strategy = none_strategy;
+		type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED;
 	} else {
 		strategy = default_strategy;
+		type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL;
 	}
 
 	for (size_t i = 0; i < TASK__COUNT; i++) {
@@ -1926,8 +1936,8 @@ static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 		strbuf_addf(&config_name, "maintenance.%s.enabled",
 			    tasks[i].name);
 		if (!repo_config_get_bool(the_repository, config_name.buf, &config_value))
-			strategy.tasks[i].enabled = config_value;
-		if (!strategy.tasks[i].enabled)
+			strategy.tasks[i].type = config_value ? type : 0;
+		if (!(strategy.tasks[i].type & type))
 			continue;
 
 		if (opts->schedule) {

Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc, builtin/gc.c, t/t7900-maintenance.sh

diff --git a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
index 45fdafc2c63..b7e90a71a3d 100644
--- a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
@@ -16,19 +16,25 @@ detach.
 
 maintenance.strategy::
 	This string config option provides a way to specify one of a few
-	recommended schedules for background maintenance. This only affects
-	which tasks are run during `git maintenance run --schedule=X`
-	commands, provided no `--task=<task>` arguments are provided.
-	Further, if a `maintenance.<task>.schedule` config value is set,
-	then that value is used instead of the one provided by
-	`maintenance.strategy`. The possible strategy strings are:
+	recommended strategies for repository maintenance. This affects
+	which tasks are run during `git maintenance run`, provided no
+	`--task=<task>` arguments are provided. This setting impacts manual
+	maintenance, auto-maintenance as well as scheduled maintenance. The
+	tasks that run may be different depending on the maintenance type.
 +
-* `none`: This default setting implies no tasks are run at any schedule.
+The maintenance strategy can be further tweaked by setting
+`maintenance.<task>.enabled` and `maintenance.<task>.schedule`. If set, these
+values are used instead of the defaults provided by `maintenance.strategy`.
++
+The possible strategies are:
++
+* `none`: This strategy implies no tasks are run at all. This is the default
+  strategy for scheduled maintenance.
 * `incremental`: This setting optimizes for performing small maintenance
   activities that do not delete any data. This does not schedule the `gc`
   task, but runs the `prefetch` and `commit-graph` tasks hourly, the
   `loose-objects` and `incremental-repack` tasks daily, and the `pack-refs`
-  task weekly.
+  task weekly. Manual repository maintenance uses the `gc` task.
 
 maintenance.<task>.enabled::
 	This boolean config option controls whether the maintenance task
diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index 6cc4f98c7aa..3c0a9a2e5df 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -1873,6 +1873,20 @@ static const struct maintenance_strategy incremental_strategy = {
 			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
 			.schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
 		},
+		/*
+		 * Historically, the "incremental" strategy was only available
+		 * in the context of scheduled maintenance when set up via
+		 * "maintenance.strategy". We have later expanded that config
+		 * to also cover manual maintenance.
+		 *
+		 * To retain backwards compatibility with the previous status
+		 * quo we thus run git-gc(1) in case manual maintenance was
+		 * requested. This is the same as the default strategy, which
+		 * would have been in use beforehand.
+		 */
+		[TASK_GC] = {
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+		},
 	},
 };
 
@@ -1916,19 +1930,20 @@ static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 	 *   - Unscheduled maintenance uses our default strategy.
 	 *
 	 * Both of these are affected by the gitconfig though, which may
-	 * override specific aspects of our strategy.
+	 * override specific aspects of our strategy. Furthermore, both
+	 * strategies can be overridden by setting "maintenance.strategy".
 	 */
 	if (opts->schedule) {
-		if (!repo_config_get_string_tmp(the_repository, "maintenance.strategy", &config_str))
-			strategy = parse_maintenance_strategy(config_str);
-		else
-			strategy = none_strategy;
+		strategy = none_strategy;
 		type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED;
 	} else {
 		strategy = default_strategy;
 		type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL;
 	}
 
+	if (!repo_config_get_string_tmp(the_repository, "maintenance.strategy", &config_str))
+		strategy = parse_maintenance_strategy(config_str);
+
 	for (size_t i = 0; i < TASK__COUNT; i++) {
 		int config_value;
 
diff --git a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
index 211350bf54e..a791a38916e 100755
--- a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
+++ b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
@@ -886,6 +886,46 @@ test_expect_success 'maintenance.strategy inheritance' '
 		<modified-daily.txt
 '
 
+test_strategy () {
+	STRATEGY="$1"
+	shift
+
+	cat >expect &&
+	rm -f trace2.txt &&
+	GIT_TRACE2_EVENT="$(pwd)/trace2.txt" \
+		git -c maintenance.strategy=$STRATEGY maintenance run --quiet "$@" &&
+	sed -n 's/{"event":"child_start","sid":"[^/"]*",.*,"argv":\["\(.*\)\"]}/\1/p' <trace2.txt |
+		sed 's/","/ /g'  >actual
+	test_cmp expect actual
+}
+
+test_expect_success 'maintenance.strategy is respected' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf repo" &&
+	git init repo &&
+	(
+		cd repo &&
+		test_commit initial &&
+
+		test_must_fail git -c maintenance.strategy=unknown maintenance run 2>err &&
+		test_grep "unknown maintenance strategy: .unknown." err &&
+
+		test_strategy incremental <<-\EOF &&
+		git pack-refs --all --prune
+		git reflog expire --all
+		git gc --quiet --no-detach --skip-foreground-tasks
+		EOF
+
+		test_strategy incremental --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF
+		git pack-refs --all --prune
+		git prune-packed --quiet
+		git multi-pack-index write --no-progress
+		git multi-pack-index expire --no-progress
+		git multi-pack-index repack --no-progress --batch-size=1
+		git commit-graph write --split --reachable --no-progress
+		EOF
+	)
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'register and unregister' '
 	test_when_finished git config --global --unset-all maintenance.repo &&
 

Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc, builtin/gc.c, t/t7900-maintenance.sh

diff --git a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
index b7e90a71a3d..b2bacdc8220 100644
--- a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@ The possible strategies are:
 +
 * `none`: This strategy implies no tasks are run at all. This is the default
   strategy for scheduled maintenance.
+* `gc`: This strategy runs the `gc` task. This is the default strategy for
+  manual maintenance.
 * `incremental`: This setting optimizes for performing small maintenance
   activities that do not delete any data. This does not schedule the `gc`
   task, but runs the `prefetch` and `commit-graph` tasks hourly, the
diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index 3c0a9a2e5df..8cab1450095 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -1843,10 +1843,11 @@ struct maintenance_strategy {
 
 static const struct maintenance_strategy none_strategy = { 0 };
 
-static const struct maintenance_strategy default_strategy = {
+static const struct maintenance_strategy gc_strategy = {
 	.tasks = {
 		[TASK_GC] = {
-			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
 		},
 	},
 };
@@ -1894,6 +1895,8 @@ static struct maintenance_strategy parse_maintenance_strategy(const char *name)
 {
 	if (!strcasecmp(name, "incremental"))
 		return incremental_strategy;
+	if (!strcasecmp(name, "gc"))
+		return gc_strategy;
 	die(_("unknown maintenance strategy: '%s'"), name);
 }
 
@@ -1937,7 +1940,7 @@ static void initialize_task_config(struct maintenance_run_opts *opts,
 		strategy = none_strategy;
 		type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED;
 	} else {
-		strategy = default_strategy;
+		strategy = gc_strategy;
 		type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL;
 	}
 
diff --git a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
index a791a38916e..65417a1e9c3 100755
--- a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
+++ b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
@@ -915,7 +915,7 @@ test_expect_success 'maintenance.strategy is respected' '
 		git gc --quiet --no-detach --skip-foreground-tasks
 		EOF
 
-		test_strategy incremental --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF
+		test_strategy incremental --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF &&
 		git pack-refs --all --prune
 		git prune-packed --quiet
 		git multi-pack-index write --no-progress
@@ -923,6 +923,18 @@ test_expect_success 'maintenance.strategy is respected' '
 		git multi-pack-index repack --no-progress --batch-size=1
 		git commit-graph write --split --reachable --no-progress
 		EOF
+
+		test_strategy gc <<-\EOF &&
+		git pack-refs --all --prune
+		git reflog expire --all
+		git gc --quiet --no-detach --skip-foreground-tasks
+		EOF
+
+		test_strategy gc --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF
+		git pack-refs --all --prune
+		git reflog expire --all
+		git gc --quiet --no-detach --skip-foreground-tasks
+		EOF
 	)
 '
 

Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc, builtin/gc.c, t/t7900-maintenance.sh

diff --git a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
index b2bacdc8220..d0c38f03fab 100644
--- a/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/config/maintenance.adoc
@@ -32,6 +32,15 @@ The possible strategies are:
   strategy for scheduled maintenance.
 * `gc`: This strategy runs the `gc` task. This is the default strategy for
   manual maintenance.
+* `geometric`: This strategy performs geometric repacking of packfiles and
+  keeps auxiliary data structures up-to-date. The strategy expires data in the
+  reflog and removes worktrees that cannot be located anymore. When the
+  geometric repacking strategy would decide to do an all-into-one repack, then
+  the strategy generates a cruft pack for all unreachable objects. Objects that
+  are already part of a cruft pack will be expired.
++
+This repacking strategy is a full replacement for the `gc` strategy and is
+recommended for large repositories.
 * `incremental`: This setting optimizes for performing small maintenance
   activities that do not delete any data. This does not schedule the `gc`
   task, but runs the `prefetch` and `commit-graph` tasks hourly, the
diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index 8cab1450095..19be3f87e13 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -1891,12 +1891,43 @@ static const struct maintenance_strategy incremental_strategy = {
 	},
 };
 
+static const struct maintenance_strategy geometric_strategy = {
+	.tasks = {
+		[TASK_COMMIT_GRAPH] = {
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_HOURLY,
+		},
+		[TASK_GEOMETRIC_REPACK] = {
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
+		},
+		[TASK_PACK_REFS] = {
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_DAILY,
+		},
+		[TASK_RERERE_GC] = {
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
+		},
+		[TASK_REFLOG_EXPIRE] = {
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
+		},
+		[TASK_WORKTREE_PRUNE] = {
+			.type = MAINTENANCE_TYPE_SCHEDULED | MAINTENANCE_TYPE_MANUAL,
+			.schedule = SCHEDULE_WEEKLY,
+		},
+	},
+};
+
 static struct maintenance_strategy parse_maintenance_strategy(const char *name)
 {
 	if (!strcasecmp(name, "incremental"))
 		return incremental_strategy;
 	if (!strcasecmp(name, "gc"))
 		return gc_strategy;
+	if (!strcasecmp(name, "geometric"))
+		return geometric_strategy;
 	die(_("unknown maintenance strategy: '%s'"), name);
 }
 
diff --git a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
index 65417a1e9c3..614184a0978 100755
--- a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
+++ b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
@@ -930,11 +930,29 @@ test_expect_success 'maintenance.strategy is respected' '
 		git gc --quiet --no-detach --skip-foreground-tasks
 		EOF
 
-		test_strategy gc --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF
+		test_strategy gc --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF &&
 		git pack-refs --all --prune
 		git reflog expire --all
 		git gc --quiet --no-detach --skip-foreground-tasks
 		EOF
+
+		test_strategy geometric <<-\EOF &&
+		git pack-refs --all --prune
+		git reflog expire --all
+		git repack -d -l --geometric=2 --quiet --write-midx
+		git commit-graph write --split --reachable --no-progress
+		git worktree prune --expire 3.months.ago
+		git rerere gc
+		EOF
+
+		test_strategy geometric --schedule=weekly <<-\EOF
+		git pack-refs --all --prune
+		git reflog expire --all
+		git repack -d -l --geometric=2 --quiet --write-midx
+		git commit-graph write --split --reachable --no-progress
+		git worktree prune --expire 3.months.ago
+		git rerere gc
+		EOF
 	)
 '
 

diff --git a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
index 0d76693fee..614184a097 100755
--- a/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
+++ b/t/t7900-maintenance.sh
@@ -500,9 +500,9 @@ test_expect_success 'geometric repacking task' '
 
 		# Repacking should now cause a no-op geometric repack because
 		# no packfiles need to be combined.
-		ls -l .git/objects/pack >before &&
+		ls -l .git/objects/pack/*.pack >before &&
 		run_and_verify_geometric_pack 1 &&
-		ls -l .git/objects/pack >after &&
+		ls -l .git/objects/pack/*.pack >after &&
 		test_cmp before after &&
 
 		# This incremental change creates a new packfile that only