Removing things has been my favorite topic to write about. Pushing any sensitive information as part of a Git commit or starting from scratch could be arguably enough reasons to remove all Git commit history. Here are two solutions you can try.
Prerequisites
- Git
Solution
#1 Using an orphaned branch
Orphaned branches are Git branches without parents = w/o Git history.
Step 1. Checkout an orphaned branch.
git checkout --orphaned <new_branch>
Step 2. Stage all files required for versioning. For instance:
git add -A
Step 3. Commit changes.
git commit -m "init commit"
Step 4. Remove the main branch.
git branch -D main
Step 5. Rename the current branch your HEAD points to.
git branch -m main
More about renaming branches.
Step 6. Finally, push changes to remote origin.
git push -f origin main
#2 Delete the whole Git history
Probably the easiest and laziest method to do so.
Step 1. Remove your local Git repository.
cd <your_repo_dir> && rm -rf .git
More about properly deleting Git repos.
Step 2. Initialize a new repo, stage files and commit changes.
git init
git add .
git commit -m "reinit repo"
Step 3. Add remote origin and push to remote.
git remote add origin [email protected]:username/repo_name
git push -f origin main
Conclusion
To find more neat Git commands and hacks, simply browse the Git category. Feel free to leave a comment below and if you find this tutorial useful, follow our official channel on Telegram.
