git-fast-export - Linux
Overview
git-fast-export
is a command for efficiently exporting a Git repository’s history into a structured, serialized format. It’s primarily used for creating archives of Git repositories, for offline analysis or use with other tools.
Syntax
git fast-export [<options>]
Options/Flags
--all
: Export all objects, including deleted ones.--tag-of-filtered-object
: Append tags to the objects they point to.--branches=<branch list>
: Export only the specified branches.--grep=<pattern>
: Filter objects by matching their content against a regular expression.--pack-size=<size>
: Set the maximum size for packfiles created during export.--output=<file>
: Write the output to a specified file.
Examples
Example 1: Export All Objects to a File
git fast-export --all --output=repo.dump
Example 2: Export Filtered Commits
git fast-export --grep=feature/x --output=filtered.dump
Example 3: Export Specific Branches
git fast-export --branches=main,feature/x --output=branch.dump
Common Issues
- Incorrect File Permissions: Ensure that the output file has write permissions for the user running the command.
- Git History Rewrite: Exported commits may have different SHA-1 hashes after a git history rewrite. Use
--all
to include all objects, even deleted ones. - Large Packfiles: If the pack-size limit is reached, multiple packfiles will be created. Use
--pack-size=0
to disable packfile creation.
Integration
git-fast-export
can be integrated with other Git commands for advanced workflows:
- Git-Archive: Use
git-fast-export
to generate the input forgit-archive
for faster and more efficient archives. - Scripts: Write scripts to automate the export process, filter objects, or perform post-export analysis.
Related Commands
git-archive
: Create a tar archive of a repository.git-dump
: Export the Git database into a human-readable format.git-upload-pack
: Sends packfile data to a remote repository.