Re: git repack and dumb protocols

[Peter Harris <git@peter.is-a-geek.org>]

On Wed, Jun 3, 2009 at 7:50 PM, Andreas Klöckner wrote:
>
> 8< ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Especially useful when packing a repository that is used for private
> development and there is no need to worry about people fetching via dumb
> protocols from it. 8<
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> It says this relating to the '-a' option, but it makes me wonder if I'll break
> copies of the repo that other people have pulled if I use 'repack'? What are
> the possible interactions and things to keep in mind between repack and dumb
> protocols?

It won't break any copies, but it may cause excessive network use.

Dumb protocols can only fetch or not-fetch the entire pack. So if
someone hasn't fetched since the last push, the next time they do a
"git pull", they will retrieve the entire repository. Even if they
only need a single small commit.

As you can imagine, people using dumb protocols over slow connections
may become somewhat annoyed with the admin that often does a repack
-a.

You do want to repack (usually without -a -- but see also ".keep")
periodically, though. Working out a schedule depends on the activity
level of the repository, and is left as an exercise for the reader.

> In any case, I would like to suggest that the rather ominous-sounding text in
> the manpage be replaced with something more concrete, i.e. "If you repack an
> archive that has people fetching via dumb protocols from it, X, Y, and Z will
> happen."

Patches welcome.

Peter Harris