git: can't find blob - want to get rid of it from pack

Question

I\'ve a large blob that I want to get rid of! I thought I removed the file using this solution: http://dound.com/2009/04/git-forever-remove-files-or-folders-from-history/ (I

Answer 1

You want to use the BFG Repo-Cleaner, a faster, simpler alternative to git-filter-branch designed for removing large files from Git repos.

Download the Java jar (requires Java 6 or above) and run this command:

$ java -jar bfg.jar  --strip-blobs-bigger-than 20M  my-repo.git

Any blob over 20M in size (that isn't in your latest commit) will be totally removed from your repository's history. You can then use git gc to clean away the dead data:

$ git gc --prune=now --aggressive

The BFG is typically 10-50x faster than running git-filter-branch and the options are tailored around these two common use-cases:

• Removing Crazy Big Files
• Removing Passwords, Credentials & other Private data

Full disclosure: I'm the author of the BFG Repo-Cleaner.