Maintaining git repo with git gc and git fsck (#83)

phdru · brettcannon · commit 20c7a96b73aa · 2016-12-11T11:29:25.000-08:00
diff --git a/committing.rst b/committing.rst
@@ -455,3 +455,27 @@ Forking repository
 
 Forking a repository on GitHub is as simple as clicking Fork button in the right
 upper corner at https://github.com/python/cpython.
+
+
+Maintaining a repository
+-------------------------
+
+The Git object database and other files/directories under ``.git`` require
+periodic maintenance and cleanup. For example, commit editing leaves
+unreferenced objects (dangling objects, in git terminology) and these
+objects should be pruned to avoid collecting cruft in the DB. The
+command ``git gc`` is used for maintenance. Git automatically runs
+``git gc --auto`` as a part of some commands to do quick maintenance.
+Users are recommended to run ``git gc --aggressive`` from time to
+time; ``git help gc`` recommends to run it  every few hundred
+changesets; for CPython it should be something like once a week
+(GitHub itself runs the command weekly, so new checkouts do not need to
+perform this step).
+
+``git gc --aggressive`` not only removes dangling objects, it also
+repacks object database into indexed and better optimized pack(s); it
+also packs symbolic references (branches and tags).
+
+From time to time run ``git fsck --strict`` to verify integrity of
+the database. ``git fsck`` may produce a list of dangling objects;
+that's not an error, just a reminder to perform regular maintenance.
