How to fix error: commit-graph is corrupt in Git

First, confirm that the commit-graph is actually corrupt:

git commit-graph verify

This command checks the commit-graph file against the object database. If corrupt, you'll see output like:

error: commit-graph is corrupt

You can also run a full repository check:

git fsck --full

If core.commitGraph is enabled (the default in modern Git), fsck will also verify the commit-graph.

The commit-graph is a cache file that can be safely deleted. Remove it:

# Remove the main commit-graph file
rm -f .git/objects/info/commit-graph

# Also remove split commit-graph files if they exist
rm -rf .git/objects/info/commit-graphs/

After deletion, Git will fall back to computing commit ancestry from the object database directly. Operations may be slower until you regenerate the graph.

Rebuild the commit-graph from scratch:

git commit-graph write --reachable

This scans all reachable commits and builds a new, valid commit-graph file. For large repositories, this may take a few minutes.

To also include generation numbers (improves performance):

git commit-graph write --reachable --changed-paths

Verify the new graph is valid:

git commit-graph verify

You should see no output if the graph is healthy.

After regenerating the commit-graph, run garbage collection to ensure consistency:

git gc

This will also regenerate the commit-graph if needed. For a more thorough cleanup:

git gc --aggressive --prune=now

Note: --aggressive is slower but produces better compression.

If you continue to experience problems, you can temporarily disable the commit-graph:

# Disable commit-graph for this repository
git config core.commitGraph false

# Or disable globally
git config --global core.commitGraph false

This tells Git not to use the commit-graph cache, falling back to the object database. Operations will be slower on large repositories but should work reliably.

To re-enable after fixing issues:

git config core.commitGraph true
git commit-graph write --reachable

Commit-graph corruption often occurs when Git repositories are stored in cloud-synced folders:

For cloud storage (OneDrive, Dropbox, iCloud, Google Drive):
- Move your Git repositories outside of synced folders
- Or exclude .git directories from syncing

For OneDrive on Windows:

# Check if OneDrive is causing lock issues
Get-ChildItem -Path .git -Recurse -Filter "*.lock"

For network filesystems (NFS, CIFS, SMB):
These can cause synchronization issues. Consider using local storage for active development.

Check for lock files:

# Remove stale lock files
rm -f .git/objects/info/commit-graph.lock