Question

I created a repository with git-svn from a big svn repository (git svn clone).
I’ve several local commits in my git repository that I don’t need to push to svn but I will need to get updates from it.

Now I realized that I don’t need the entire svn history in my local repository, since it’s using too much space (some Gb) and that I should have used the -r option in the clone command to select a starting point.

I’d linke to start over with a new repository and then merge all the local commits from the old repository, but I’m not sure there is a simple way to do this.

The situation is this:

log of the old repository:

• local commit 10
• local commit 9
  …
• local commit 1
• svn revision X
• svn revision X-1
  …
• svn revision 1

the new repository has just one commit, corresponding to the contend of the revision X of the svn repository.

I tried to use format-patch and apply commands but I’m not sure on how to do this.

Is there a way to do what I need?

Thanks for any help

Answer 1

One method is, in your new repository:

• to git remote add old your old repository;
• to git fetch old;
• to checkout the branch which contains you want;
• to know the starting point from where your branch was created before the changes;
• and then use git rebase --onto.

When done, git remote rm the old repo and git gc.

See git help rebase for the --onto option: it is very, very useful.