Shrink a Bloated Git Repository and Optimize Pack Files

Executive Summary Large Git repositories slow down developers, CI/CD, and release processes. The main culprits are big binary blobs, long-lived histories of rarely used files, and repeated commits of generated artifacts. This guide provides a comprehensive, step-by-step approach to: Measure where the bloat is and surgically remove it by rewriting history with safe, modern tools, Aggressively repack objects for performance, and put guardrails in place — such as Git LFS, CI size policies, and partial clone — to keep your repo lean over time. By the end, you will know how to identify the largest objects hidden in your commit DAG, remove historical binaries without breaking your trunk, safely coordinate a force-push for the team, reduce pack files by orders of magnitude, and adopt practices that prevent bloat from coming back.