Repository maintenance

Over time, a sync repository can accumulate history, references no longer in use, or anomalous states of the local clone. The maintenance operations tidy things up without ever putting your data at risk. You find them in the System tab of the dashboard (and in the corresponding commands), each with its own repository card — in the Team edition there are Core and Memories.

The local clone is just a cache

First of all, a guarantee that makes all these operations safe: the local clone of the repository is a derived cache. The source of truth is the ~/.claude folder, where your Claude Code configuration lives. That’s why clearing and re-cloning the repository loses nothing: it simply rebuilds the cache from scratch.

The operations

Every operation always asks for in-app confirmation before running.

Reset / Reinitialize

Clears the local clone and re-clones it from scratch. It’s the safest operation and often resolves many anomalous states: because the clone is a derived cache, rebuilding it involves no data loss.

Compact history

Reduces the repository’s size by compressing the history into a single commit. The previous history doesn’t disappear: it remains reachable through a recovery ref kept for the purpose.

Clean

Removes the “unmanaged zones” from the repository: content that’s no longer synced and is therefore no longer needed in the repository.

Change repo

Migrates the history to a new URL. Useful when the repository is moved or renamed, or when you want to adopt a different git host.

Always confirmed, never force-push

All maintenance operations respect two principles of the product:

• Idempotent — you can re-run them without harm: repeating an operation leaves the system in the same final state, it doesn’t make things worse.
• No force-push — the remote history is never rewritten destructively. No machine can overwrite another’s work: any conflicts are surfaced in the dashboard for a human decision, never resolved behind the scenes.

When to use them

Situation	Operation
The sync status stays anomalous and doesn’t resolve on its own	Reset / Reinitialize
The repository has grown a lot and you want to lighten it	Compact history
Content that’s no longer synced remains and you want to remove it from the repository	Clean
You’ve moved or renamed the repository, or you’re changing git host	Change repo

Tip

If an action stays “pending” with a spinner, let it finish: every maintenance button is disabled until the operation responds. Don’t click again.

See also

• Privacy and security — why idempotency and the absence of force-push protect your data.
• Team edition — maintenance on two repositories, CORE and MEMORIES.
• Troubleshooting — diagnostics and anomalous states.