Mid

Remove File from Entire Git History

Difficulty: mid

Source: devops-interviews/devops-interview-questions by Alex Muradov

Answer

Scenario

A file named secrets.env containing sensitive credentials exists in the repository's commit history. You need to purge this file from the entire history.

Task

Navigate to /home/interview/repo and rewrite the commit history to permanently remove secrets.env from all commits.

Example

# Before (Sensitive data in history)
$ git log --all --oneline -- secrets.env
a1b2c3d Add secrets file

# After (Clean history)
$ git log --all --oneline -- secrets.env
(no output)

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