| 1 | git-pack-refs(1) |
| 2 | ================ |
| 3 | |
| 4 | NAME |
| 5 | ---- |
| 6 | git-pack-refs - Pack heads and tags for efficient repository access |
| 7 | |
| 8 | SYNOPSIS |
| 9 | -------- |
| 10 | [verse] |
| 11 | 'git pack-refs' [--all] [--no-prune] [--auto] [--include <pattern>] [--exclude <pattern>] |
| 12 | |
| 13 | DESCRIPTION |
| 14 | ----------- |
| 15 | |
| 16 | Traditionally, tips of branches and tags (collectively known as |
| 17 | 'refs') were stored one file per ref in a (sub)directory |
| 18 | under `$GIT_DIR/refs` |
| 19 | directory. While many branch tips tend to be updated often, |
| 20 | most tags and some branch tips are never updated. When a |
| 21 | repository has hundreds or thousands of tags, this |
| 22 | one-file-per-ref format both wastes storage and hurts |
| 23 | performance. |
| 24 | |
| 25 | This command is used to solve the storage and performance |
| 26 | problem by storing the refs in a single file, |
| 27 | `$GIT_DIR/packed-refs`. When a ref is missing from the |
| 28 | traditional `$GIT_DIR/refs` directory hierarchy, it is looked |
| 29 | up in this |
| 30 | file and used if found. |
| 31 | |
| 32 | Subsequent updates to branches always create new files under |
| 33 | `$GIT_DIR/refs` directory hierarchy. |
| 34 | |
| 35 | A recommended practice to deal with a repository with too many |
| 36 | refs is to pack its refs with `--all` once, and |
| 37 | occasionally run `git pack-refs`. Tags are by |
| 38 | definition stationary and are not expected to change. Branch |
| 39 | heads will be packed with the initial `pack-refs --all`, but |
| 40 | only the currently active branch heads will become unpacked, |
| 41 | and the next `pack-refs` (without `--all`) will leave them |
| 42 | unpacked. |
| 43 | |
| 44 | |
| 45 | OPTIONS |
| 46 | ------- |
| 47 | |
| 48 | include::pack-refs-options.adoc[] |
| 49 | |
| 50 | |
| 51 | BUGS |
| 52 | ---- |
| 53 | |
| 54 | Older documentation written before the packed-refs mechanism was |
| 55 | introduced may still say things like ".git/refs/heads/<branch> file |
| 56 | exists" when it means "branch <branch> exists". |
| 57 | |
| 58 | |
| 59 | GIT |
| 60 | --- |
| 61 | Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite |