Delete file on git repository

Question

I uploaded a file(a huge fool file) accidentally to my git repository, when I noticed it I "removed" using git rm the_fool_file

Then I saw that the file is still at the repository althought it was removed from my local.

How can I removed from the server and definitely delete it?

Thanks in advance.

I also tried

git filter-branch --tree-filter 'rm -f myfile' HEAD

got

WARNING: Ref 'refs/heads/master' is unchanged

file is not at head, it was removed

Are you asking how to push the commit that removes the file, or how to destroy history? — SLaks, Feb 20 '14 at 16:01
So, try the search box in the upper right. The answer's already on SO, just look around a bit. — Don Branson, Feb 20 '14 at 16:13
@DonBranson I have looked for answer but I haven't got it, so I asking for others opcions. For example when I tried `git rm --cached my_file` I get `fatal: pathspec 'myfile' did not match any files` — Andres, Feb 20 '14 at 16:25
https://www.google.com/search?q=github+remove+file+from+history — SLaks, Feb 20 '14 at 16:32
You deleted the file server doesn't know that. Just commit & push it... — Learath2, Feb 20 '14 at 17:23
@Learath2 I did it, so if you clone it you aren't going to download the file, but it is still at repository history — Andres, Feb 20 '14 at 18:16
Only way to actually purge it from the history is filter-branch i think. — Learath2, Feb 20 '14 at 18:27
Why do you want to purge it from history? Does it contain sensitive data? — Don Branson, Feb 20 '14 at 20:13
https://help.github.com/articles/remove-sensitive-data I love linking this page as it explains it quite well. — Learath2, Feb 20 '14 at 21:45
@DonBranson I want to remove it because it is huge and does not belong to the project, it was uploaded accidentally — Andres, Feb 20 '14 at 23:20

score 3 · Answer 1 · edited May 23 '17 at 10:26

I want to remove it because it is huge and does not belong to the project, it was uploaded accidentally

Then the easiest way to do that is by using BFG Repo-Cleaner

Remove all blobs bigger than 1 megabyte :

$ bfg --strip-blobs-bigger-than 1M  my-repo.git

That will take care of all the commits before the current one.

But don't forget to then run:

git gc --prune=now --aggressive

1 Answers1