git-unpack-objects

git unpack-objects [-n] [-q] [-r] [--strict] [--max-input-size=size]

git unpack-objects is a low-level plumbing command. It reads a packed archive (.pack) from standard input, expands the objects inside it, and writes them into the repository in loose form (one object per file under .git/objects).Objects that already exist in the repository are not unpacked from the packfile. Running this command on a pack that already lives in the target repository therefore unpacks nothing.Typical uses are recovering objects from a pack copied out of another repository, or feeding a pack produced by git pack-objects. Everyday packing and cleanup is done with git repack and git gc; this command is the inverse of packing, not a substitute for those tools.

-n

Dry run. Check the pack file without actually unpacking the objects.

Suppress the percentage progress meter the command normally prints.

When unpacking a corrupt packfile, keep going instead of dying at the first corruption and recover as many objects as possible.

Do not write objects with broken content or links.

Die if the pack is larger than size.

The pack is read from stdin, not from a filename argument. You must run it inside a Git repository. Existing objects are skipped, so a pack already registered in the target repo is a no-op. --strict still requires a well-formed pack; it only refuses to persist broken objects.

git-repack(1), git-verify-pack(1), git-cat-file(1), git-gc(1), git-unpack-file(1)

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