Git 2.49 released with faster packing, backfill historical blobs in partial clones, & more

Git 2.49 has been released, offering several new features and improvements for users of this popular distributed version control system. A notable change is the introduction of a new variant of the hash function, which considers more of the directory structure. This enhancement can lead to better packing performance and a reduced overall pack size. Additionally, Git 2.49 introduces the git backfill tool to address missing historical blobs in partial clones.

The release also allows building Git with zlib-ng by using ZLIB_NG with GNU Make or the zlib_backend option with Meson. This version marks a significant milestone with the integration of Rust code, introducing two Rust crates: libgit-sys and libgit, which provide low- and high-level wrappers for a portion of Git’s library code.

Git 2.49 modifies the help.autocorrect convention, interpreting “1” like other boolean commands, while numbers greater than 1 retain their previous behavior. A new --revision option complements the --branch and --tag options, allowing users to fetch history leading up to a specified revision without needing a branch or tag reference.

This release also includes various other changes, enhancements, and bug fixes, enhancing Git's usability and stability.