backfill Git Command Guide

The git backfill command is used in conjunction with Git’s multi-pack index to compute and backfill bitmap indexes. This optimizes pack file access and improves performance for clone and fetch operations in repositories with many objects.

git multi-pack-index backfill Syntax:

git multi-pack-index backfill [--[no-]tqdm] [<options>]

Options:

Option	Description
—tqdm	Show progress bar (default)
—no-tqdm	Suppress progress bar
—object-dir=	Specify the object directory

Parameters:

Parameter	Description
None	Operates on the current repository

git backfill Command Samples:

Backfill bitmaps for multi-pack index

git multi-pack-index backfill

Computes and adds bitmap indexes to the multi-pack index for better performance.

Backfill without progress bar

git multi-pack-index backfill --no-tqdm

Runs the backfill operation quietly without showing progress.

Backfill in a specific object directory

git multi-pack-index backfill --object-dir=/path/to/objects

Specifies a custom object directory for the operation.

How do I enable multi-pack index in Git?

To enable multi-pack index, run git config core.multiPackIndex true, then create the index and backfill bitmaps.

When should I run git multi-pack-index backfill?

Run it after enabling multi-pack index and when adding many new pack files to optimize repository performance.

Can git backfill be run on remote repositories?

No, git multi-pack-index backfill operates locally on the repository’s object directory.

Applications of the git backfill command

Optimizing pack file access in large repositories
Preparing repositories for faster clone operations
Setting up bitmap indexes for pull optimizations
Maintaining efficient object storage layouts
Supporting large-scale Git server operations
Enhancing fetch performance with reduced I/O