# git fsck: Usage, Options & Common CI Errors

> git fsck verifies object-database integrity and finds dangling or corrupt objects. Reference for --full, --lost-found, and recovering unreachable commits.

Source: https://latchkey.dev/learn/command-reference/git-fsck  
Updated: 2026-06-25

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.

## Using this in CI

CI checkouts are shallow and detached by default, which changes the answer this command gives you. Commands that read history, branch names, or tags need the checkout configured for it.

```.github/workflows/ci.yml
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
  with:
    fetch-depth: 0   # history, tags, and git describe all need this

- run: |
    git rev-parse --is-shallow-repository   # expect false
    git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD          # prints HEAD when detached
```

> `git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD` returns the literal string `HEAD` on a detached checkout rather than a branch name. On GitHub Actions read `github.ref_name` instead; the git command cannot know what it was checked out for.

## FAQ

### git fsck: Usage, Options & Common CI Errors?

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 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.

---

Latchkey runs CI/CD that repairs its own failures. Agent entry points: https://latchkey.dev/agent.txt, https://latchkey.dev/openapi.json, https://latchkey.dev/llms.txt