> Without having exlplained what a 'snapshot' A commit is effectively a snapshot of the repository at a given point in time. This is unlike some other revision

> Without having exlplained what a 'snapshot' A commit is effectively a snapshot of the repository at a given point in time. This is unlike some other revision control systems where a commit is a diff. In git, a commit contains whole files, and the diff is generated if needed. > and what 'typically' means Pretty much everything is configurable, and you can invoke the cleanup process by hand if you really want to. > it's pretty unclear whether the first statement is affected by the second, and if it were the first is incorrect Yes, I think it's incorrect and shouldn't be relied on. Things floating around unconnected to a branch can be removed by git eventually. There's plenty time to fix any mistake, but it's not "forever".