File Too Large I Want to Remove It
Ah -- at some point I've added a large file to my local copy of a repository.
It only becomes a problem when I try to push to the server...
> git push
Enumerating objects: 210, done.
Counting objects: 100% (210/210), done.
Delta compression using up to 8 threads
Compressing objects: 100% (183/183), done.
Writing objects: 100% (197/197), 12.72 MiB | 731.00 KiB/s, done.
Total 197 (delta 33), reused 0 (delta 0), pack-reused 0
remote: Resolving deltas: 100% (33/33), completed with 8 local objects.
remote: error: Trace: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaabbbbbbbbbbbbbbcccccccccccccccccccdddddddddd
remote: error: See http://git.io/iEPt8g for more information.
remote: error: File myrepo/myfolder/BIGFILE.rpt is 641.12 MB; this exceeds GitHub's file size limit of 100.00 MB
remote: error: GH001: Large files detected. You may want to try Git Large File Storage - https://git-lfs.github.com.
To https://github.com/myaccount/myrepo.git
! [remote rejected] master -> master (pre-receive hook declined)
error: failed to push some refs to 'https://github.com/myaccount/myrepo.git'
You've already committed the file... you have to edit history -- you can't simply "add" a "remove" like so...
git rm BIGFILE.rpt
git commit -m "Naively deleting the BIG file... THIS WON'T WORK!"
If it was added in the most recent commit, hey it's easy -- amend like so:
git rm --cached myfolder/BIGFILE.rpt
git commit --amend -C HEAD
Otherwise -- FIND the commit where it was added....
(How to find the commit where a file was added...)
git log --diff-filter=A -- myfolder/BIGFILE.rpt
returns...
commit ffffffffccccccaaaaabbbbbaaaa
Author: Author Name <Author@Example.com>
Date: Mon Feb 6 14:52:11 2023 +1000
Adding that big file
...And you need to find the commit before that one... the last 'good' commit....
e.g. it might be --
c067fde7f3baf86f23ec32a48cae87eaa3a895c2
Now you run a rebase back to there...
git rebase -i c067fde7f3baf86f23ec32a48cae87eaa3a895c2
And that will show the list of commits to edit or pick... put "edit" next to the commit in which any big file was added.
Then use git rm folder/BIGFILE.rpt alternated with git status (and, as it suggests, git rebase --continue) ... until you have removed the large file (or files) along the way, and rebased your way right back to the place where you wanted to end up.
Now, try and git push... and perhaps you'll learn about other big files you missed, dammit! You'll get there eventually.