Git - git-gc Documentation

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <script type="text/javascript"> const currentTheme = localStorage.getItem("theme") if (currentTheme) { const prefersDarkScheme = window.matchMedia("(prefers-color-scheme: dark)").matches if ((prefersDarkScheme && currentTheme === "light") || (!prefersDarkScheme && currentTheme === "dark")) { document.documentElement.dataset.theme = currentTheme } } </script> <meta charset='utf-8'> <meta content='IE=edge,chrome=1' http-equiv='X-UA-Compatible'> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <title>Git - git-gc Documentation</title> <link href="/favicon.ico" rel='shortcut icon' type='image/x-icon'> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/application.min.css"> </head> <body id="documentation"> <div class="inner"> <header> <a id="logo" href="/"><img src="/images/logo@2x.png" width="110" height="46" alt="Git" class="no-filter" /></a> <span id="tagline"></span> <script type="text/javascript"> const taglines = [ "fast-version-control", "everything-is-local", "distributed-even-if-your-workflow-isnt", "local-branching-on-the-cheap", "distributed-is-the-new-centralized" ]; var tagline = taglines[Math.floor(Math.random() * taglines.length)]; document.getElementById('tagline').innerHTML = '--' + tagline; </script> <div id="search-container"> <form id="search" action="/search/results"> <input id="search-text" name="search" placeholder="Type / to search entire site…" autocomplete="off" type="text" /> </form> <div id="search-results"></div> </div> <img src="/images/dark-mode.svg" id="dark-mode-button" /> </header> </div> <div class="inner"> <div id="content-wrapper"> <div tabindex="1" class="sidebar-btn"></div> <aside class="sidebar" id="sidebar"> <nav> <ul> <li> <a href="/about">About</a> <ul> </ul> </li> <li> <a href="/doc" class="active">Documentation</a> <ul class="expanded"> <li> <a href="/docs" class="active">Reference</a> </li> <li> <a href="/book">Book</a> </li> <li> <a href="/videos">Videos</a> </li> <li> <a href="/doc/ext">External Links</a> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <a href="/downloads">Downloads</a> <ul > <li> <a href="/downloads/guis">GUI Clients</a> </li> <li> <a href="/downloads/logos">Logos</a> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <a href="/community">Community</a> </li> </ul> </nav> </aside> <div id="content"> <div id='reference-version'> <a class="dropdown-trigger" id="reference-languages-trigger" data-panel-id="l10n-versions-dropdown" href="#"> English ▾</a> <div class='dropdown-panel right' id='l10n-versions-dropdown'> <header>Localized versions of <strong>git-gc</strong> manual</header> <ol class='reference-previous-versions'> <li> <a href="/docs/git-gc"><span class="version">English</span> </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-gc/fr"><span class="version">Français</span> </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-gc/pt_BR"><span class="version">Português (Brasil)</span> </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-gc/zh_HANS-CN"><span class="version">简体中文</span> </a> </li> </ol> <footer> Want to read in your language or fix typos?<br/> <a href="https://github.com/jnavila/git-manpages-l10n">You can help translate this page</a>. </footer> </div> <a class="dropdown-trigger" id="reference-topics-trigger" data-panel-id="topics-dropdown" href="#">Topics ▾</a> <div class='dropdown-panel right' id='topics-dropdown'> <div class='three-column'> <div class='column-left'> <h3 class='setup'>Setup and Config</h3> <ul class='unstyled'> <li> <a href="/docs/git"> git </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-config"> config </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-help"> help </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-bugreport"> bugreport </a> </li> <li> <a href="/doc/credential-helpers"> Credential helpers </a> </li> </ul> <h3 class='projects'>Getting and Creating Projects</h3> <ul class='unstyled'> <li> <a href="/docs/git-init"> init </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-clone"> clone </a> </li> </ul> <h3 class='snapshotting'>Basic Snapshotting</h3> <ul class='unstyled'> <li> <a href="/docs/git-add"> add </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-status"> status </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-diff"> diff </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-commit"> commit </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-notes"> notes </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-restore"> restore </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-reset"> reset </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-rm"> rm </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-mv"> mv </a> </li> </ul> <h3 class='branching'>Branching and Merging</h3> <ul class='unstyled'> <li> <a href="/docs/git-branch"> branch </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-checkout"> checkout </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-switch"> switch </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-merge"> merge </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-mergetool"> mergetool </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-log"> log </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-stash"> stash </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-tag"> tag </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-worktree"> worktree </a> </li> </ul> <h3 class='sharing'>Sharing and Updating Projects</h3> <ul class='unstyled'> <li> <a href="/docs/git-fetch"> fetch </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-pull"> pull </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-push"> push </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-remote"> remote </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-submodule"> submodule </a> </li> </ul> </div> <div class='column-middle'> <h3 class='inspection'>Inspection and Comparison</h3> <ul class='unstyled'> <li> <a href="/docs/git-show"> show </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-log"> log </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-diff"> diff </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-difftool"> difftool </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-range-diff"> range-diff </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-shortlog"> shortlog </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-describe"> describe </a> </li> </ul> <h3 class='patching'>Patching</h3> <ul class='unstyled'> <li> <a href="/docs/git-apply"> apply </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-cherry-pick"> cherry-pick </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-diff"> diff </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-rebase"> rebase </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-revert"> revert </a> </li> </ul> <h3 class='debugging'>Debugging</h3> <ul class='unstyled'> <li> <a href="/docs/git-bisect"> bisect </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-blame"> blame </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-grep"> grep </a> </li> </ul> <h3 class='email'>Email</h3> <ul class='unstyled'> <li> <a href="/docs/git-am"> am </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-apply"> apply </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-format-patch"> format-patch </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-send-email"> send-email </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-request-pull"> request-pull </a> </li> </ul> <h3 class='external'>External Systems</h3> <ul class='unstyled'> <li> <a href="/docs/git-svn"> svn </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-fast-import"> fast-import </a> </li> </ul> <h3 class='server-admin'>Server Admin</h3> <ul class='unstyled'> <li> <a href="/docs/git-daemon"> daemon </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-update-server-info"> update-server-info </a> </li> </ul> </div> <div class='column-right'> <h3 class='guides'>Guides</h3> <ul class='unstyled'> <li> <a href="/docs/gitattributes"> gitattributes </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/gitcli"> Command-line interface conventions </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/giteveryday"> Everyday Git </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/gitfaq"> Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/gitglossary"> Glossary </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/githooks"> Hooks </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/gitignore"> gitignore </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/gitmodules"> gitmodules </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/gitrevisions"> Revisions </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/gitsubmodules"> Submodules </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/gittutorial"> Tutorial </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/gitworkflows"> Workflows </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git#_guides"> All guides... </a> </li> </ul> <h3 class='admin'>Administration</h3> <ul class='unstyled'> <li> <a href="/docs/git-clean"> clean </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-gc"> gc </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-fsck"> fsck </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-reflog"> reflog </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-filter-branch"> filter-branch </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-instaweb"> instaweb </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-archive"> archive </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-bundle"> bundle </a> </li> </ul> <h3 class='plumbing'>Plumbing Commands</h3> <ul class='unstyled'> <li> <a href="/docs/git-cat-file"> cat-file </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-check-ignore"> check-ignore </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-checkout-index"> checkout-index </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-commit-tree"> commit-tree </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-count-objects"> count-objects </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-diff-index"> diff-index </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-for-each-ref"> for-each-ref </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-hash-object"> hash-object </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-ls-files"> ls-files </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-ls-tree"> ls-tree </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-merge-base"> merge-base </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-read-tree"> read-tree </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-rev-list"> rev-list </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-rev-parse"> rev-parse </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-show-ref"> show-ref </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-symbolic-ref"> symbolic-ref </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-update-index"> update-index </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-update-ref"> update-ref </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-verify-pack"> verify-pack </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-write-tree"> write-tree </a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <a class="dropdown-trigger" id="reference-versions-trigger" data-panel-id="previous-versions-dropdown" href="#"> Version 2.0.5 ▾ </a> <span class="light d-flex">git-gc last updated in 2.49.0</span> <div class='dropdown-panel left' id='previous-versions-dropdown'> <header>Changes in the <strong>git-gc</strong> manual</header> <ol class='reference-previous-versions'> <li> <a href="/docs/git-gc/2.49.0"><span class="version">2.49.0</span> <span class="diff"> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> </span> <em class="date">2025-03-14</em> </a> </li> <li class="no-change"><span>2.47.1 → 2.48.1 no changes</span></li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-gc/2.47.0"><span class="version">2.47.0</span> <span class="diff"> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> </span> <em class="date">2024-10-06</em> </a> </li> <li class="no-change"><span>2.43.1 → 2.46.3 no changes</span></li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-gc/2.43.0"><span class="version">2.43.0</span> <span class="diff"> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> </span> <em class="date">2023-11-20</em> </a> </li> <li class="no-change"><span>2.42.1 → 2.42.4 no changes</span></li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-gc/2.42.0"><span class="version">2.42.0</span> <span class="diff"> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> </span> <em class="date">2023-08-21</em> </a> </li> <li class="no-change"><span>2.41.1 → 2.41.3 no changes</span></li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-gc/2.41.0"><span class="version">2.41.0</span> <span class="diff"> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> </span> <em class="date">2023-06-01</em> </a> </li> <li class="no-change"><span>2.38.1 → 2.40.4 no changes</span></li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-gc/2.38.0"><span class="version">2.38.0</span> <span class="diff"> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> </span> <em class="date">2022-10-02</em> </a> </li> <li class="no-change"><span>2.37.1 → 2.37.7 no changes</span></li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-gc/2.37.0"><span class="version">2.37.0</span> <span class="diff"> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> </span> <em class="date">2022-06-27</em> </a> </li> <li class="no-change"><span>2.31.1 → 2.36.6 no changes</span></li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-gc/2.31.0"><span class="version">2.31.0</span> <span class="diff"> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> </span> <em class="date">2021-03-15</em> </a> </li> <li class="no-change"><span>2.30.1 → 2.30.9 no changes</span></li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-gc/2.30.0"><span class="version">2.30.0</span> <span class="diff"> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> </span> <em class="date">2020-12-27</em> </a> </li> <li class="no-change"><span>2.24.1 → 2.29.3 no changes</span></li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-gc/2.24.0"><span class="version">2.24.0</span> <span class="diff"> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> </span> <em class="date">2019-11-04</em> </a> </li> <li class="no-change"><span>2.22.1 → 2.23.4 no changes</span></li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-gc/2.22.0"><span class="version">2.22.0</span> <span class="diff"> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> </span> <em class="date">2019-06-07</em> </a> </li> <li class="no-change"><span>2.21.1 → 2.21.4 no changes</span></li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-gc/2.21.0"><span class="version">2.21.0</span> <span class="diff"> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> </span> <em class="date">2019-02-24</em> </a> </li> <li class="no-change"><span>2.20.1 → 2.20.5 no changes</span></li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-gc/2.20.0"><span class="version">2.20.0</span> <span class="diff"> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> </span> <em class="date">2018-12-09</em> </a> </li> <li class="no-change"><span>2.19.1 → 2.19.6 no changes</span></li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-gc/2.19.0"><span class="version">2.19.0</span> <span class="diff"> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> </span> <em class="date">2018-09-10</em> </a> </li> <li class="no-change"><span>2.18.1 → 2.18.5 no changes</span></li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-gc/2.18.0"><span class="version">2.18.0</span> <span class="diff"> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> </span> <em class="date">2018-06-21</em> </a> </li> <li class="no-change"><span>2.13.7 → 2.17.6 no changes</span></li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-gc/2.12.5"><span class="version">2.12.5</span> <span class="diff"> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> </span> <em class="date">2017-09-22</em> </a> </li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-gc/2.11.4"><span class="version">2.11.4</span> <span class="diff"> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> </span> <em class="date">2017-09-22</em> </a> </li> <li class="no-change"><span>2.10.5 no changes</span></li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-gc/2.9.5"><span class="version">2.9.5</span> <span class="diff"> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> </span> <em class="date">2017-07-30</em> </a> </li> <li class="no-change"><span>2.7.6 → 2.8.6 no changes</span></li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-gc/2.6.7"><span class="version">2.6.7</span> <span class="diff"> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> </span> <em class="date">2017-05-05</em> </a> </li> <li class="no-change"><span>2.5.6 no changes</span></li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-gc/2.4.12"><span class="version">2.4.12</span> <span class="diff"> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> </span> <em class="date">2017-05-05</em> </a> </li> <li class="no-change"><span>2.1.4 → 2.3.10 no changes</span></li> <li> <a href="/docs/git-gc/2.0.5"><span class="version">2.0.5</span> <span class="diff"> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/green-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/red-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> <img src="/images/icons/grey-dot.png" /> </span> <em class="date">2014-12-17</em> </a> </li> <li> </li> </ol> <footer> <p>Check your version of git by running</p> <code class="command">git --version</code> </footer> </div> </div> <div id="main"> <div class="sect1"> <h2 id="_name"><a class="anchor" href="#_name"></a>NAME</h2> <div class="sectionbody"> <div class="paragraph"> <p>git-gc - Cleanup unnecessary files and optimize the local repository</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="sect1"> <h2 id="_synopsis"><a class="anchor" href="#_synopsis"></a>SYNOPSIS</h2> <div class="sectionbody"> <div class="verseblock"> <pre class="content"><em>git gc</em> [--aggressive] [--auto] [--quiet] [--prune=<date> | --no-prune] [--force]</pre> </div> </div> </div> <div class="sect1"> <h2 id="_description"><a class="anchor" href="#_description"></a>DESCRIPTION</h2> <div class="sectionbody"> <div class="paragraph"> <p>Runs a number of housekeeping tasks within the current repository, such as compressing file revisions (to reduce disk space and increase performance) and removing unreachable objects which may have been created from prior invocations of <em>git add</em>.</p> </div> <div class="paragraph"> <p>Users are encouraged to run this task on a regular basis within each repository to maintain good disk space utilization and good operating performance.</p> </div> <div class="paragraph"> <p>Some git commands may automatically run <em>git gc</em>; see the <code>--auto</code> flag below for details. If you know what you’re doing and all you want is to disable this behavior permanently without further considerations, just do:</p> </div> <div class="listingblock"> <div class="content"> <pre>$ git config --global gc.auto 0</pre> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="sect1"> <h2 id="_options"><a class="anchor" href="#_options"></a>OPTIONS</h2> <div class="sectionbody"> <div class="dlist"> <dl> <dt class="hdlist1" id="Documentation/git-gc.txt---aggressive"> <a class="anchor" href="#Documentation/git-gc.txt---aggressive"></a>--aggressive </dt> <dd> <p>Usually <em>git gc</em> runs very quickly while providing good disk space utilization and performance. This option will cause <em>git gc</em> to more aggressively optimize the repository at the expense of taking much more time. The effects of this optimization are persistent, so this option only needs to be used occasionally; every few hundred changesets or so.</p> </dd> <dt class="hdlist1" id="Documentation/git-gc.txt---auto"> <a class="anchor" href="#Documentation/git-gc.txt---auto"></a>--auto </dt> <dd> <p>With this option, <em>git gc</em> checks whether any housekeeping is required; if not, it exits without performing any work. Some git commands run <code>git gc --auto</code> after performing operations that could create many loose objects.</p> <div class="paragraph"> <p>Housekeeping is required if there are too many loose objects or too many packs in the repository. If the number of loose objects exceeds the value of the <code>gc.auto</code> configuration variable, then all loose objects are combined into a single pack using <code>git repack -d -l</code>. Setting the value of <code>gc.auto</code> to 0 disables automatic packing of loose objects.</p> </div> <div class="paragraph"> <p>If the number of packs exceeds the value of <code>gc.autopacklimit</code>, then existing packs (except those marked with a <code>.keep</code> file) are consolidated into a single pack by using the <code>-A</code> option of <em>git repack</em>. Setting <code>gc.autopacklimit</code> to 0 disables automatic consolidation of packs.</p> </div> </dd> <dt class="hdlist1" id="Documentation/git-gc.txt---pruneltdategt"> <a class="anchor" href="#Documentation/git-gc.txt---pruneltdategt"></a>--prune=<date> </dt> <dd> <p>Prune loose objects older than date (default is 2 weeks ago, overridable by the config variable <code>gc.pruneExpire</code>). --prune=all prunes loose objects regardless of their age. --prune is on by default.</p> </dd> <dt class="hdlist1" id="Documentation/git-gc.txt---no-prune"> <a class="anchor" href="#Documentation/git-gc.txt---no-prune"></a>--no-prune </dt> <dd> <p>Do not prune any loose objects.</p> </dd> <dt class="hdlist1" id="Documentation/git-gc.txt---quiet"> <a class="anchor" href="#Documentation/git-gc.txt---quiet"></a>--quiet </dt> <dd> <p>Suppress all progress reports.</p> </dd> <dt class="hdlist1" id="Documentation/git-gc.txt---force"> <a class="anchor" href="#Documentation/git-gc.txt---force"></a>--force </dt> <dd> <p>Force <code>git gc</code> to run even if there may be another <code>git gc</code> instance running on this repository.</p> </dd> </dl> </div> </div> </div> <div class="sect1"> <h2 id="_configuration"><a class="anchor" href="#_configuration"></a>Configuration</h2> <div class="sectionbody"> <div class="paragraph"> <p>The optional configuration variable <em>gc.reflogExpire</em> can be set to indicate how long historical entries within each branch’s reflog should remain available in this repository. The setting is expressed as a length of time, for example <em>90 days</em> or <em>3 months</em>. It defaults to <em>90 days</em>.</p> </div> <div class="paragraph"> <p>The optional configuration variable <em>gc.reflogExpireUnreachable</em> can be set to indicate how long historical reflog entries which are not part of the current branch should remain available in this repository. These types of entries are generally created as a result of using <code>git commit --amend</code> or <code>git rebase</code> and are the commits prior to the amend or rebase occurring. Since these changes are not part of the current project most users will want to expire them sooner. This option defaults to <em>30 days</em>.</p> </div> <div class="paragraph"> <p>The above two configuration variables can be given to a pattern. For example, this sets non-default expiry values only to remote-tracking branches:</p> </div> <div class="listingblock"> <div class="content"> <pre>[gc "refs/remotes/*"] reflogExpire = never reflogexpireUnreachable = 3 days</pre> </div> </div> <div class="paragraph"> <p>The optional configuration variable <em>gc.rerereresolved</em> indicates how long records of conflicted merge you resolved earlier are kept. This defaults to 60 days.</p> </div> <div class="paragraph"> <p>The optional configuration variable <em>gc.rerereunresolved</em> indicates how long records of conflicted merge you have not resolved are kept. This defaults to 15 days.</p> </div> <div class="paragraph"> <p>The optional configuration variable <em>gc.packrefs</em> determines if <em>git gc</em> runs <em>git pack-refs</em>. This can be set to "notbare" to enable it within all non-bare repos or it can be set to a boolean value. This defaults to true.</p> </div> <div class="paragraph"> <p>The optional configuration variable <em>gc.aggressiveWindow</em> controls how much time is spent optimizing the delta compression of the objects in the repository when the --aggressive option is specified. The larger the value, the more time is spent optimizing the delta compression. See the documentation for the --window' option in <a href='/docs/git-repack'>git-repack[1]</a> for more details. This defaults to 250.</p> </div> <div class="paragraph"> <p>Similarly, the optional configuration variable <em>gc.aggressiveDepth</em> controls --depth option in <a href='/docs/git-repack'>git-repack[1]</a>. This defaults to 250.</p> </div> <div class="paragraph"> <p>The optional configuration variable <em>gc.pruneExpire</em> controls how old the unreferenced loose objects have to be before they are pruned. The default is "2 weeks ago".</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="sect1"> <h2 id="_notes"><a class="anchor" href="#_notes"></a>Notes</h2> <div class="sectionbody"> <div class="paragraph"> <p><em>git gc</em> tries very hard to be safe about the garbage it collects. In particular, it will keep not only objects referenced by your current set of branches and tags, but also objects referenced by the index, remote-tracking branches, refs saved by <em>git filter-branch</em> in refs/original/, or reflogs (which may reference commits in branches that were later amended or rewound).</p> </div> <div class="paragraph"> <p>If you are expecting some objects to be collected and they aren’t, check all of those locations and decide whether it makes sense in your case to remove those references.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="sect1"> <h2 id="_hooks"><a class="anchor" href="#_hooks"></a>HOOKS</h2> <div class="sectionbody"> <div class="paragraph"> <p>The <em>git gc --auto</em> command will run the <em>pre-auto-gc</em> hook. See <a href='/docs/githooks'>githooks[5]</a> for more information.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="sect1"> <h2 id="_see_also"><a class="anchor" href="#_see_also"></a>SEE ALSO</h2> <div class="sectionbody"> <div class="paragraph"> <p><a href='/docs/git-prune'>git-prune[1]</a> <a href='/docs/git-reflog'>git-reflog[1]</a> <a href='/docs/git-repack'>git-repack[1]</a> <a href='/docs/git-rerere'>git-rerere[1]</a></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="sect1"> <h2 id="_git"><a class="anchor" href="#_git"></a>GIT</h2> <div class="sectionbody"> <div class="paragraph"> <p>Part of the <a href='/docs/git'>git[1]</a> suite</p> </div> </div> </div> <h3 hidden="true" data-pagefind-weight="10">gc</h3> </div> </div> </div> <footer> <div class="site-source"> <a href="/site">About this site</a><br> Patches, suggestions, and comments are welcome. </div> <div class="sfc-member"> Git is a member of <a href="/sfc">Software Freedom Conservancy</a> </div> </footer> <a href="#top" class="no-js scrollToTop" id="scrollToTop" data-label="Scroll to top"> <img src="/images/icons/chevron-up@2x.png" width="20" height="20" alt="scroll-to-top"/> </a> <script src="/js/jquery-1.7.1.min.js"></script> <script src="/js/jquery-ui-1.8.18.custom.min.js"></script> <script src="/js/jquery.defaultvalue.js"></script> <script src="/js/session.min.js"></script> <script src="/js/modernizr.js"></script> <script src="/js/modernize.js"></script> <script src="/js/application.min.js"></script> </div> </body> </html>

CINXE.COM

Git - git-gc Documentation