Is it possible to clean git log in .git when it's becoming to big

Question

I really dislike to have monster .git folder (2GB) and I don't care about changes in 2002 and I don't want to create new repository so what should I do to clean .git / log ?

Note that I want it not local-only, next time I want to clone repository without history or with history since 2011 year.

thank you

Answer 1

From your question, I think you want something like this.

git-rebase(1) does exactly that.

$ git rebase -i HEAD~5

git awsome-ness contains an example.

1. Don't use git-rebase on public (remote) commits.
2. Make sure your working directory is clean (commit or stash your current changes).
3. Run the above command. It launches your $EDITOR.
4. Replace pick before C and D by squash. It will meld C and D into B. If you want to delete a commit then just delete its line.

If you are lost, type:

$ git rebase --abort  

However, to copmress the .git folder safely, the above is not recommended. You can try the following as mentioned in a comment by Linus.

git repack -a -d --depth=250 --window=250

where that depth thing is just about how deep the delta chains can be (make them longer for old history - it's worth the space overhead), and the window thing is about how big an object window we want each delta candidate to scan.