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Remove a file permanently from git history

OMG this is insane (but it does work).

ChatGPT response

To delete a large file from a Git repository after it has been added, you can follow these steps:

Make sure you have committed any pending changes before proceeding.
Identify the file you want to remove. Take note of its name and path.
Open the terminal or command prompt and navigate to your Git repository directory.
Use the git filter-branch command to remove the file from the entire commit history. Replace FILENAME with the actual name and path of the file:
```
git filter-branch --tree-filter 'rm -rf FILENAME' -- --all
```
This command will rewrite the commit history and remove the file from all branches and tags.

Note: Be cautious when performing this operation as it modifies the commit history permanently. It is advisable to make a backup of your repository before proceeding.

Once the command completes successfully, the file will be removed from the Git repository.
To clean up the unnecessary files created during the filter-branch process, execute the following commands:
```
git for-each-ref --format="%(refname)" refs/original/ | xargs -n 1 git update-ref -d
git reflog expire --expire=now --all
git gc --prune=now
```
These commands remove the references to the original commits and clean up any unused objects.
Finally, force-push the changes to the remote repository to update it:
```
git push origin --force --all
```
Note: Remember, force-pushing modifies the remote repository’s commit history, so be cautious when using this command.

After following these steps, the large file should be deleted from your Git repository.

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