Remove working files from git repository, to save space

Question

I have a number of GitHub projects on my disk, but many of them are not in active use.

I would like to remove the working files for the time being, because they are stored in the commit history anyway, so I can retrieve them at a later time.

The easiest way to remove the files is rm -rf * but it has a number of drawbacks:

• It doesn't remove dotfiles such as .gitignore
• If I come back later, git status complains about lots of removed files. I have to work out whether I should commit these removals, or if I had just removed them to temporarily save space.

What is a quick and easy way to remove the working files? And is there a way to do it cleanly?

Answer 1

If you use git 2.5.1 or higher, you can use bare repositories, and use git worktree add /some/checkout/path branch if you want to inspect or use its content.

The worktree will work exactly as a standard git clone, expect that all modifications you run there (commits, new branches, tags, ...) are applied to the bare clone.

Answer 2

Creating an empty branch seems to work quite nicely:

1. Check that all your files are safely committed into a branch (e.g. "master" or "develop" branch).

2. Create an empty branch. I will call it "empty".

   git checkout --orphan empty
   

3. But that didn't remove the files. Do that manually:

   git reset --hard
   

4. The branch doesn't really exist yet. Make an initial commit to confirm it:

   git commit --allow-empty -m 'Empty commit'
   

Now all your files are gone, and you are on a branch that embodies that situation.

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Good things about this process:

• It uses git's own mechanisms. There is no confusing dirty status.
• It is clear what is going on when you see the branch name.
• You can easily switch back to master with git checkout master
• You can easily switch back to your empty branch again with git checkout empty

Disadvantages:

• The initial process requires 3 commands.
• If you are not familiar with branches, or seeing which branch you are on, when you return to the folder you might wonder where all your files have gone!