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Request server-side garbage collection for all repositories in workspace, Please!

alexvonchrismar_wue8dz

Title: Request server-side garbage collection for all repositories in a Bitbucket Cloud workspace

Hello Atlassian Support,

Our Bitbucket Cloud workspace is receiving the warning that it is getting close to the 1 GB storage limit.

We have rewritten and cleaned the Git history of several repositories, including force-pushing new clean root commits. Some of these cleanups were completed more than 60 days ago, but the repository sizes and total workspace storage shown in Bitbucket have not decreased.

In a recent example:

- The repository now has only one root commit.
- It has only one remote branch.
- It has no remote tags.
- Its current Git content is approximately 6–10 MB.
- Bitbucket still displays approximately 65 MB.

The same issue affects other repositories whose histories were cleaned previously.

Could an Atlassian team member please:

1. Run server-side garbage collection on all repositories in the workspace.
2. Remove unreachable Git objects left after history rewrites.
3. Check for hidden references, old pull-request refs, forks, or internal refs that may keep obsolete objects reachable.
4. Recalculate and refresh the displayed size of every repository.
5. Recalculate the total storage usage of the workspace.
6. Confirm the total workspace size after garbage collection.

I can provide the workspace ID, repository names, and commit references privately if required.

Thank you.

Accepted answers

Syahrul

Hey @alexvonchrismar

Welcome to the community.

I've triggered Git GC on most of your repositories in the workspace. Please review them, and if the size hasn't changed, there are likely more files that need to be removed to reduce the size further.

Please check our guide for more information on how to reduce your repository size further

Reduce repository size

I hope this helps.

Regards,
Syahrul

alexvonchrismar

Solved — results and brief guide for other users

Thank you very much to everyone who helped make this possible.

Special thanks to Viswanathan Ramachandran for the initial guidance, to Tomislav Tobijas for reaching out to the appropriate Atlassian team, and to Syahrul and the Bitbucket Cloud team for running the server-side garbage collection.

The result was significant:

- Workspace size before: approximately 866.7 MB
- Workspace size after: approximately 354.2 MB
- Space recovered: approximately 512.5 MB
- Total reduction: approximately 59%

One repository alone decreased from 65.3 MB to 6 MB.

For anyone facing the same issue, here is a brief summary of what worked:

1. Clean the Git history first

Simply deleting files and creating a normal commit does not reduce the real repository size, because the old files remain stored in previous Git commits.

Before doing anything, create a backup. Then rewrite the repository history so that obsolete files are no longer referenced.

In our case, we created a new clean root commit containing only the current files that were still needed and force-pushed it to the main branch.

Also review and remove obsolete remote branches and tags, because they may continue pointing to the old history.

2. Verify the remote state

Confirm that the remote repository contains only the branches and tags that should remain.

The current branch should point to the rewritten clean history. Old commits should no longer be reachable from normal branches or tags.

3. Request server-side garbage collection

Even after rewriting and force-pushing the history, Bitbucket Cloud may continue storing the old, unreachable Git objects.

That unused historical data is often where most of the repository space is being consumed.

A member of the Atlassian team must run server-side garbage collection so Bitbucket can permanently remove those unreachable objects and recalculate the repository and workspace sizes.

Hidden references, such as old pull request references, may also retain historical objects and may need to be reviewed by the Bitbucket team.

In summary:

- First remove unwanted files from the Git history.
- Then remove obsolete branches and tags.
- Finally ask the Atlassian team to run server-side garbage collection.

Deleting files from the latest version alone is not enough. The largest savings usually come from removing obsolete files stored throughout the Git history.

Thank you again to the community volunteers and the Atlassian team. This process recovered more than 500 MB and brought the workspace safely below the storage limit.

I hope this summary helps other Bitbucket Cloud users facing the same problem.

Cheers!

All comments

Viswanathan Ramachandran

Hi @alexvonchrismar

I hear you. We the community can’t do that. We don’t have access. You must contact support team https://support.atlassian.com

Once you contacted support and if you sorted, please share the findings and details so it can help others.

Just a thought. Even though you successfully cleaned your history and force-pushed, Bitbucket keeps hidden references like pull requests references pointing to old commits.

alexvonchrismar_wue8dz

Thank you for your reply and for the clarification.

I understand that community members do not have access to run garbage collection directly.

The difficulty I have is that this workspace is on the Bitbucket Cloud Free plan, so I am not able to open a direct Bitbucket Cloud support ticket. The available guidance sends Free plan users to the Atlassian Community, which is why I posted here.

Several repositories in the workspace had their Git history cleaned and force-pushed more than 60 days ago, but their displayed sizes have not decreased. It is possible that hidden pull request or internal references are still keeping old objects reachable.

Could someone please help me get this request in front of a Bitbucket Cloud team member who may be able to:

- Review the repositories for hidden or old references.
- Run server-side garbage collection across the workspace.
- Recalculate the repository sizes and total workspace storage.

I am happy to provide the workspace ID and repository details privately if needed.

Any guidance or help reaching the appropriate team would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much.

Tomislav Tobijas

Hey @alexvonchrismar ,

I've pinged Atlassian forum support team to check this out. Someone should reach out within 1-2 business days and they'll probably run garbage collection for you 🧹

Cheers,
Tobi

alexvonchrismar

Thank you very much, Tobi.

I really appreciate your help reaching out to the Atlassian support team. I’ll keep an eye on the thread and provide any workspace or repository details they may need.

Thanks again!

Syahrul

Hey @alexvonchrismar

Welcome to the community.

Please check our guide for more information on how to reduce your repository size further

Reduce repository size

I hope this helps.

Regards,
Syahrul

alexvonchrismar

Thank you very much, Syahrul.

I reviewed the workspace after the garbage collection, and it worked successfully.

The total displayed size decreased from approximately 866.7 MB to 354.2 MB, recovering around 512.5 MB, or about 59% of the workspace storage.

One repository alone decreased from 65.3 MB to 6 MB.

Thank you to you and the Bitbucket Cloud team for your help.

alexvonchrismar

Solved — results and brief guide for other users

Thank you very much to everyone who helped make this possible.

The result was significant:

- Workspace size before: approximately 866.7 MB
- Workspace size after: approximately 354.2 MB
- Space recovered: approximately 512.5 MB
- Total reduction: approximately 59%

One repository alone decreased from 65.3 MB to 6 MB.

For anyone facing the same issue, here is a brief summary of what worked:

1. Clean the Git history first

Simply deleting files and creating a normal commit does not reduce the real repository size, because the old files remain stored in previous Git commits.

Before doing anything, create a backup. Then rewrite the repository history so that obsolete files are no longer referenced.

In our case, we created a new clean root commit containing only the current files that were still needed and force-pushed it to the main branch.

Also review and remove obsolete remote branches and tags, because they may continue pointing to the old history.

2. Verify the remote state

Confirm that the remote repository contains only the branches and tags that should remain.

The current branch should point to the rewritten clean history. Old commits should no longer be reachable from normal branches or tags.

3. Request server-side garbage collection

Even after rewriting and force-pushing the history, Bitbucket Cloud may continue storing the old, unreachable Git objects.

That unused historical data is often where most of the repository space is being consumed.

A member of the Atlassian team must run server-side garbage collection so Bitbucket can permanently remove those unreachable objects and recalculate the repository and workspace sizes.

Hidden references, such as old pull request references, may also retain historical objects and may need to be reviewed by the Bitbucket team.

In summary:

- First remove unwanted files from the Git history.
- Then remove obsolete branches and tags.
- Finally ask the Atlassian team to run server-side garbage collection.

Deleting files from the latest version alone is not enough. The largest savings usually come from removing obsolete files stored throughout the Git history.

Thank you again to the community volunteers and the Atlassian team. This process recovered more than 500 MB and brought the workspace safely below the storage limit.

I hope this summary helps other Bitbucket Cloud users facing the same problem.

Cheers!

Viswanathan Ramachandran

Yay, good news. Thank you for the summary

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