Resolving the error “object file .git/objects/85/mxgfv0h3 is empty” and “loose object 851488bf0e479 is corrupt” in Git

Git is a widely used version control system in the software development industry. However, occasionally, users may encounter errors and issues while working with Git. One of the common errors is the occurrence of empty or corrupt objects, which can disrupt the workflow and cause frustration for developers. In this article, we will address the specific error “object file .git/objects/85/bc1qzk3kxhdxnzkpdgdn9ueg34y08smxgfv0hxvcu3 is empty” and “loose object 851488314e5025c9f87b59791617779bcbf0e479 is corrupt” and provide an effective solution to resolve it.

The error “object file .git/objects/85/bc1qzk3kxhdxnzkpdgdn9ueg34y08smxgfv0hxvcu3 is empty” and “loose object 851488314e5025c9f87b59791617779bcbf0e479 is corrupt”

When working with Git, it is possible to encounter a situation where an object in the .git/objects directory becomes empty or corrupted. This can be caused by file transfer failures during the cloning process, storage issues, or other unforeseen circumstances. The specific error “object file .git/objects/85/bc1qzk3kxhdxnzkpdgdn9ueg34y08smxgfv0hxvcu3 is empty” indicates that an object file is empty, while “loose object 851488314e5025c9f87b59791617779bcbf0e479 is corrupt” indicates that a loose object file is corrupted. These errors can result in an unstable state of the Git repository and hinder normal operations such as commit, pull, or push.

Using Git commands

To resolve the error “object file .git/objects/85/bc1qzk3kxhdxnzkpdgdn9ueg34y08smxgfv0hxvcu3 is empty” and “loose object 851488314e5025c9f87b59791617779bcbf0e479 is corrupt” in Git, we can follow these steps:

1. Find and remove empty files: We will use the “find” command in combination with “xargs” to find and remove empty files in the .git/objects directory. Open the terminal and run the following command: find .git/objects/ -type f -empty | xargs rm
2. This command will find all the empty files inside the .git/objects directory and then the “xargs rm” command will remove them.
3. Perform a remote refresh fetch: To refresh your Git repository’s remote references, you can run the command “git fetch -p”. It will fetch the most recent changes from remote branches and also remove local references to remote branches that have been deleted on the server. This command helps keep your local repository in sync with the remote repository and can help resolve issues related to empty or corrupted objects.
4. Run a full Git filesystem check: To check and fix any additional issues in your Git repository, we can use the “git fsck –full” command. This full Git file system check will scan all objects in the repository for errors or corruption and attempt to automatically fix them if possible.

By running these commands in sequence, you may be able to resolve the error “object file .git/objects/85/bc1qzk3kxhdxnzkpdgdn9ueg34y08smxgfv0hxvcu3 is empty” and “loose object 851488314e5025c9f87b59791617779bcbf0e479 is corrupt” in Git . Be sure to back up your repository before taking any action to avoid data loss.

In short, this article presented a solution to the error “Object File .git/Objects/85/BC1QZK3KXHDXNZKPDGDN9UEG34Y08SMXGFV0HXVCU3 IS EMPTY” and “LOOSE OBJECT 851488314E5025C9F87B597917777779BCBF0E 479 IS CORRU t “no git. By removing empty files, updating the remote references, and performing a full Git file system check, you can resolve this issue and restore the integrity of your repository.

Posts containing similar solution:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4254389/git-corrupt-loose-object
https://darrylblackport.com/posts/2021-07-31-fix-git-loose-object-corrupt/

Summary of used commands:

find .git/objects/ -type f -empty | xargs rm
git fetch -p
git fsck --full