git fsck: Usage, Options & Common CI Errors

git fsck checks your repository for corruption and reports dangling or unreachable objects.

fsck is the integrity checker. It also surfaces dangling commits you might recover after a destructive operation.

What it does

git fsck (file-system check) verifies the connectivity and validity of objects in the database, reporting missing, corrupt, dangling, and unreachable objects.

Common usage

Terminal

git fsck
git fsck --full
git fsck --lost-found             # write dangling objects to disk
git fsck --unreachable

Options

Flag	What it does
--full	Check all object packs and alternates
--lost-found	Write dangling blobs/commits to .git/lost-found
--unreachable	Print objects not reachable from any ref
--no-dangling	Suppress dangling-object reports

Common errors in CI

error: object file … is empty or "fatal: loose object … is corrupt" indicates real repository corruption - usually a truncated write or disk issue on the runner. The reliable CI fix is a fresh clone; fsck plus dangling-object recovery is for local rescue, not pipelines.

Related guides

git gc: Usage, Options & Common CI Errorsgit gc compresses and prunes the object database to keep the repo fast and small. Reference for --aggressive,… git reflog: Usage, Options & Common CI Errorsgit reflog records where HEAD and branches have been, so you can recover lost commits. Reference for show, ex… git reset: Usage, Options & Common CI Errorsgit reset moves HEAD and optionally the index and working tree. Reference for --soft, --mixed, --hard, and ho… git cat-file: Usage, Options & Common CI Errorsgit cat-file inspects Git objects - their type, size, and content. Reference for -t, -s, -p, --batch, and the…