# git-rewrite-history

> MANDATORY: Use instead of `git filter-branch` - safer git-filter-repo with recovery

- Author: Gili Tzabari
- Repository: cowwoc/cat
- Version: 20260125214441
- Stars: 28
- Forks: 0
- Last Updated: 2026-02-08
- Source: https://github.com/cowwoc/cat
- Web: https://mule.run/skillshub/@@cowwoc/cat~git-rewrite-history:20260125214441

---

---
name: git-rewrite-history
description: "MANDATORY: Use instead of `git filter-branch` - safer git-filter-repo with recovery"
---

# Git Rewrite History Skill

**Purpose**: Safely rewrite git history using `git-filter-repo`, the modern replacement for
`git filter-branch`.

## Why git-filter-repo over git-filter-branch

**Always use `git-filter-repo` instead of `git filter-branch`**. Git itself warns against filter-branch:

> git-filter-branch has a glut of gotchas generating mangled history rewrites.
> Use git-filter-repo instead.

| Feature | git-filter-repo | git-filter-branch |
|---------|-----------------|-------------------|
| Speed | 10-50x faster | Slow |
| Safety | Handles edge cases | Many gotchas |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained | Deprecated |
| Syntax | Simple, intuitive | Complex, error-prone |

## Installation

```bash
pip install git-filter-repo
# or
pip install --break-system-packages git-filter-repo
```

## Safety Pattern: Backup-Verify-Cleanup

**ALWAYS follow this pattern:**

1. **Work on a fresh clone** (filter-repo requires this by default)
2. Create backup of original remote URL
3. Execute the filter operation **with `--partial`** (preserves reflog for recovery)
4. **Verify immediately** - check history is correct
5. Force push only after verification and explicit user approval

### MANDATORY: Always Use --partial Flag

**Always include the `--partial` flag with git-filter-repo**. Without it:
- Reflog is expired (old commits unrecoverable)
- Automatic `git gc` runs (objects permanently deleted)
- No recovery possible after force-push

With `--partial`:
- Old commits preserved in reflog
- Recovery via `git reset --hard HEAD@{n}` possible
- New history is active, old history available as fallback

## Common Operations

### Remove a File from All History

```bash
# Fresh clone required
git clone --mirror <url> repo-filter
cd repo-filter

# Remove file (--partial preserves reflog for recovery)
git filter-repo --partial --path secrets.txt --invert-paths

# Verify
git log --all --oneline -- secrets.txt  # Should return nothing

# If wrong, recover: git reflog && git reset --hard HEAD@{n}

# Push only after verification (requires explicit user approval)
git push origin --force --all
```

### Remove a Directory from All History

```bash
git filter-repo --partial --path vendor/ --invert-paths
```

### Remove a Submodule from History

```bash
# This removes the gitlink entry for a submodule
git filter-repo --partial --path submodule-name --invert-paths
```

### Rename/Move Files in History

```bash
# Rename a file across all history
git filter-repo --partial --path-rename old-name.txt:new-name.txt

# Move directory
git filter-repo --partial --path-rename old-dir/:new-dir/
```

### Remove Large Files

```bash
# Remove files larger than 10MB
git filter-repo --partial --strip-blobs-bigger-than 10M
```

### Keep Only Specific Paths

```bash
# Keep only src/ directory (remove everything else)
git filter-repo --partial --path src/
```

### Filter by Content (Remove Secrets)

```bash
# Replace text patterns
git filter-repo --partial --replace-text expressions.txt

# Where expressions.txt contains:
# PASSWORD=secret123==>PASSWORD=REDACTED
# regex:api_key=\w+==>api_key=REDACTED
```

## Working on Existing Clone

By default, git-filter-repo requires a fresh clone. To work on an existing repo:

```bash
# --partial preserves reflog, --force allows non-fresh clone
git filter-repo --partial --force --path file-to-remove --invert-paths
```

## After Rewriting History

1. **All collaborators must re-clone** or reset their branches
2. **Force push required**: `git push --force-with-lease origin <branch>`
3. **Update any CI/CD** that caches the old commits
4. **GitHub/GitLab**: May need to run garbage collection on server

## Verification Checklist

- [ ] Target files/paths no longer in history: `git log --all -- <path>`
- [ ] Commit count is expected
- [ ] No unexpected files removed: `git diff --stat <old-commit>..<new-head>`
- [ ] Build still works
- [ ] Tests pass

## Recovery

If something goes wrong (before force-push):

```bash
# With --partial, old history is in reflog
git reflog                           # Find old commit (e.g., HEAD@{2})
git reset --hard HEAD@{2}            # Restore to pre-filter state

# If you have original remote (after force-push)
git fetch origin
git reset --hard origin/<branch>

# If you kept a backup branch
git reset --hard backup-before-filter
```

**CRITICAL**: Recovery from reflog only works if:
1. You used `--partial` flag
2. You haven't force-pushed yet (or haven't run `git gc`)

## When to Use This Skill

- Removing accidentally committed secrets
- Removing large binary files to reduce repo size
- Removing submodules from history
- Restructuring repository paths
- Splitting a repository

## References

- [git-filter-repo documentation](https://github.com/newren/git-filter-repo)
- [GitHub: Removing sensitive data](https://docs.github.com/en/authentication/keeping-your-account-and-data-secure/removing-sensitive-data-from-a-repository)