CODEWITHSUNDEEP
git
HelpHunter
HelpHunter

Reputation: 5

Can I have a git repository that is metadata/diffs only?

My team all has a very large project (10s of gigs) we are working on. We currently all have the exact same state via a USB share, and would like to use git to track our changes without having to send all the base files to a remote server.

Is there a way to init and sync a git repository where the server does not have the full files, just the diffs/changes? Or are there alternative solutions anyone is aware of?

Upvotes: 0

Views: 178

Answers (2)

bk2204
bk2204

Reputation: 76649

No, you cannot have a Git repository that is metadata and diffs only. Git stores the entire contents of the repository. However, when the data is packed, it is stored very efficiently, so changes are effectively stored as differences against other files.

If your situation is that you'd like to have a smaller checkout or local copy, there are options like sparse checkout and partial clone. If your situation is that you don't want to use a server, you can store the data in a bare repository on a shared drive and pull from that. You can even send the data between yourselves via a set of email patches if you'd like.

But there is no way to not have at least one complete copy of the repository somewhere, whether that's on a server or on your machine.

Upvotes: 1

choroba
choroba

Reputation: 241928

That's what the --bare option of init and clone does:

git init --bare

or

git clone --bare path-or-uri-of-the-original-repo

Upvotes: 0

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