[Git] How to see and delete the .git folder

When you initialize a new Git repository or clone one from a remote server, a hidden folder named .git is created in the root directory of your project. Understanding how to view and manage this folder is crucial for effective version control and, sometimes, for troubleshooting your repository. In this tutorial, we will guide you through the steps to see and delete the .git folder.

Understanding the .git Folder

The .git folder is the heart of your repository; it contains all the information that makes up the version control history. This includes references to commits, branches, tags, and the configuration for the repository. Because of its importance, you should be cautious when handling this folder.

Viewing the .git Folder

To view the .git folder, you firstly need to check if your operating system displays hidden files and directories. Here are ways to do that on various operating systems:

On Windows:

REM Show hidden files and folders 
REM Explorer > View > Check 'Hidden items' 
REM Using Command Prompt:
> dir /a:h

On Unix-based Systems (Linux, macOS):

# List directory contents including hidden files
ls -a

After ensuring that hidden items are visible, navigate to your repository root. The .git folder should be visible if you’re in the correct directory.

Inspecting the .git Folder

Before considering deleting the .git folder, you may want to inspect its contents. You can do this by opening the folder in your file explorer or using the following command from your terminal:

# On Unix-based systems
cd .git && ls

# On Windows
cd .git && dir

This command moves you into the .git folder and lists its contents.

Deleting the .git Folder

If you decide that you need to delete the .git folder—perhaps you want to stop version-control for the project or you’re planning to reinitialize the repository—please proceed with caution, understanding that this action is irreversible. Here’s how you can delete the .git folder:

On Unix-based Systems:

# Delete the .git directory 
rm -rf .git

This command will recursively force delete the .git folder and all its contents.

On Windows:

REM Using Command Prompt
rmdir .git /s /q

If you need to use PowerShell, the command differs slightly:

# Using PowerShell
Remove-Item .git -Recurse -Force

Advanced Operations Involving the .git Folder

Deleting the .git folder remotely

If you’ve accidentally pushed a sensitive file to a remote repository, it might be necessary to remove the entire .git history to ensure the sensitive data isn’t recoverable. You’ll need to delete the .git folder locally, reinitialize the repository, and force push your changes.

rm -rf .git
git init
git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit after history rewrite"
git remote add origin <repository-url>
git push -u --force origin master

Backing up the .git folder

Before deleting the .git folder, consider backing it up:

# Create a backup of your .git directory 
tar czvf git_backup.tar.gz .git

This command compresses the .git folder into an archive file that you can store safely before removing the original .git directory.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, you’ve learned how to view and safely delete the .git folder. This knowledge can be useful for cleaning up repositories, starting afresh without the repository’s history, or dealing with a corrupted .git directory. Please ensure you truly want to remove all version control information before deleting the .git folder—it is an irreversible process that completely wipes out the repository history.