How to remove all traces of a single file in git [duplicate]

Question

I recently noticed that I had a file with sensitive information under version control in git. I have now added this file to my .gitignore list, but how can I remove all mention of it from my commit history without touching anything else? i.e., I don't want to just delete my .git directory.

twe4ked · Accepted Answer · 2014-01-19 03:59:37Z

9

Try this guide on the GitHub help site: https://help.github.com/articles/remove-sensitive-data

Specifically:

git filter-branch --force --index-filter \
  'git rm --cached --ignore-unmatch Rakefile' \
  --prune-empty --tag-name-filter cat -- --all

answered Jan 19, 2014 at 3:59

twe4ked

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1 Comment

Jaime Hablutzel Over a year ago

Will this remove any trace of the sensitive file in .git/ folder metadata?.

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 12:29:17Z

3

Good question. This github remove-sensitive-data and this remove-sensitive-files-and-their-commits-from-git-history explain it.

edited May 23, 2017 at 12:29

CommunityBot

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answered Jan 19, 2014 at 3:59

Ethan Fang

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