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The oxen prune command removes orphaned nodes and version files that are not referenced by any commit in your repository. This helps reclaim disk space by cleaning up unreferenced data that accumulates over time.

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Basic Usage

To prune your repository and remove orphaned files: 
oxen prune
This will scan your repository, identify unreferenced nodes and version files, and remove them to free up disk space.
In large repositories, the prune operation can take a while to run as it needs to scan all nodes and version files. Consider using --dry-run first to estimate the scope of the operation.

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Dry Run Mode

Before actually removing files, you can preview what would be deleted using the --dry-run flag: 
oxen prune --dry-run
Or using the short form: 
oxen prune -n
This is useful to see how much space would be freed without making any changes to your repository.

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Understanding Prune Statistics

After running oxen prune, you’ll see detailed statistics about the operation: 
Prune Statistics:
  Nodes:
    Scanned:  1250
    Kept:     1100
    Removed:  150
  Version Files:
    Scanned:  3400
    Kept:     3200
    Removed:  200
  Disk Space Freed: 1.2 GB
  • Nodes: Internal data structures that track file metadata
    • Scanned: Total number of nodes examined
    • Kept: Nodes still referenced by commits
    • Removed: Orphaned nodes that were deleted
  • Version Files: Actual file content stored in the repository
    • Scanned: Total number of version files examined
    • Kept: Files still referenced by commits
    • Removed: Orphaned files that were deleted
  • Disk Space Freed: Total amount of storage reclaimed

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When to Use Prune

You should consider running oxen prune when:
  • You’ve deleted or modified many files across multiple commits
  • You’ve rebased or reset your commit history
  • You’ve removed large files from your repository
  • Your .oxen directory is taking up more space than expected
  • You want to optimize repository storage before sharing or archiving

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Safety

The prune operation only removes files that are not referenced by any commit in your repository. It will never delete:
  • Files referenced by any commit
  • Files in your working directory
  • Staged files
  • The .oxen directory structure itself
This makes it safe to run without worrying about losing committed data.

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Example Workflow

A typical workflow for pruning your repository: 
# First, check what would be removed
oxen prune --dry-run

# Review the statistics
# If everything looks good, run the actual prune
oxen prune

# Verify your repository is still intact
oxen status
oxen log