git-leak-recovery

Recover secrets from Git reflog by inspecting unreachable objects using git reflog and git fsck, then extracting data from identified commits. The reflog retains deleted commits temporarily, allowing you to locate and extract sensitive data before permanent cleanup.

Git forensics uses reflog inspection, fsck to scan for dangling objects, stash history examination, and branch/tag/notes enumeration. These techniques traverse Git's internal state to discover commits outside the current branch history that may contain recoverable secrets.

Yes. After extracting recovered data, expire reflog entries, run aggressive garbage collection with git gc, and verify cleanup using fsck. These steps purge unreachable objects and ensure secrets are not recoverable from the local repository.

Use reflog and fsck when secrets are already removed and you need forensic recovery of past state. This approach discovers what exists in dangling commits without rewriting active history, preserving the repository for investigation before cleanup.

Reset, rebase, and amend all create dangling commits visible in reflog. Recovery is identical for all three: inspect reflog, identify target commits with fsck, extract contents, then expire and garbage-collect to clean up. The removal method doesn't affect recoverability.