Git uses a distributed version control system (DVCS) that stores data in a content-addressable database. This database is a collection of Git objects, which include blobs, trees, commits, and tags.
A blob is a binary large object that stores the content of a file. Blobs represent the contents of files, but not their metadata or location in the file system.
A tree is a Git object that represents a directory. It contains references to other trees and blobs, representing the file system structure of a project.
A commit is a Git object that contains a snapshot of the repository at a given point in time, along with metadata such as the author, commit message, and a pointer to the previous commit. Commits are organized in a directed acyclic graph (DAG), with each commit pointing to its parent commit or commits.
A tag is a Git object that allows a developer to assign a symbolic name to a specific version of a repository. It can be used to mark important points in the development history, such as release points.
Git stores these objects as loose objects, which are individual files in the Git object database. When there are many loose objects, Git can pack them into a packfile for more efficient storage and transfer. Packfiles contain multiple objects that are compressed and delta-encoded to reduce their size.
When you clone a Git repository, you receive a complete copy of the object database, including all the loose objects and packfiles. Git uses a SHA-1 hash to identify each object, so it’s easy to determine if two repositories have the same content.
In summary, Git’s internal storage mechanism is designed to efficiently store and manage large amounts of data in a content-addressable database. By storing objects as loose objects or packfiles, Git can minimize the storage space required and make it easy to share and collaborate on code across multiple repositories.