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| author | Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> | 2012-08-22 11:52:55 -0700 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> | 2012-08-22 11:52:55 -0700 |
| commit | 7e0c2036b46ee6eef295a7e6dcb3775e874aa780 (patch) | |
| tree | 85fba066428c09f13972f220dd5cad0f3487305a /Documentation/git-pack-refs.txt | |
| parent | 92cdcc528402c4dc76a9facf3eb182cd9d659eb4 (diff) | |
| parent | 831e61f80fab2d3f9ba1773e657803dcf8b16432 (diff) | |
| download | git-7e0c2036b46ee6eef295a7e6dcb3775e874aa780.tar.gz | |
Merge branch 'jc/tag-doc'
Our documentation used to assume having files in .git/refs/*
directories was the only to have branches and tags, but that is not
true for quite some time.
* jc/tag-doc:
Documentation: do not mention .git/refs/* directories
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/git-pack-refs.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/git-pack-refs.txt | 19 |
1 files changed, 15 insertions, 4 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/git-pack-refs.txt b/Documentation/git-pack-refs.txt index 10afd4edfe..f131677478 100644 --- a/Documentation/git-pack-refs.txt +++ b/Documentation/git-pack-refs.txt @@ -14,7 +14,8 @@ DESCRIPTION ----------- Traditionally, tips of branches and tags (collectively known as -'refs') were stored one file per ref under `$GIT_DIR/refs` +'refs') were stored one file per ref in a (sub)directory +under `$GIT_DIR/refs` directory. While many branch tips tend to be updated often, most tags and some branch tips are never updated. When a repository has hundreds or thousands of tags, this @@ -22,13 +23,14 @@ one-file-per-ref format both wastes storage and hurts performance. This command is used to solve the storage and performance -problem by stashing the refs in a single file, +problem by storing the refs in a single file, `$GIT_DIR/packed-refs`. When a ref is missing from the -traditional `$GIT_DIR/refs` hierarchy, it is looked up in this +traditional `$GIT_DIR/refs` directory hierarchy, it is looked +up in this file and used if found. Subsequent updates to branches always create new files under -`$GIT_DIR/refs` hierarchy. +`$GIT_DIR/refs` directory hierarchy. A recommended practice to deal with a repository with too many refs is to pack its refs with `--all --prune` once, and @@ -57,6 +59,15 @@ a repository with many branches of historical interests. The command usually removes loose refs under `$GIT_DIR/refs` hierarchy after packing them. This option tells it not to. + +BUGS +---- + +Older documentation written before the packed-refs mechanism was +introduced may still say things like ".git/refs/heads/<branch> file +exists" when it means "branch <branch> exists". + + GIT --- Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite |