Sensitive data committed to history

[github-learning-lab[bot]]

Sensitive data elsewhere in the repository contents

Often sensitive data is buried deep in a repository's history. The process for removing these files and commit data is a bit tricker and more involved.

In our repository's history, there is a reference to a .env file with sensitive information. We've since added a .gitignore to prevent this from happening in the future, but it doesn't modify any previously committed references from the history.

There are a few things we need to think about and take into consideration before we start altering our historical content. But for now, let's start with identifying the commit in question by going through our commit history.

Step 12: Find historical reference to a previous .env file

1. Navigate to the Code tab of the repository and click on the commits link directly under the Code tab
2. Scanning through the commit history, locate the commit that added the .env file
3. Copy and paste the commit SHA ID as a comment in this issue

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I'll respond below when you add your comment to this issue.

[github-learning-lab[bot]]

Nice, that's the commit that added the .env file. We'll need to remove the contents of this commit, as well as the commit that removed it from the history.

Step 13: Remove historical reference to a previous .env file

We can do this with the following commands:

1. Since we cloned the repository earlier, let's run git checkout main to put us back on the main branch

2. Run git pull to update your local repository with the changes we merged from the contributor's pull request

3. Run git filter-branch --index-filter "git rm -rf --cached --ignore-unmatch .env" HEAD to remove the historical reference to the .env file

   Note: There is a lot going on with this command. We won't be diving into everything this command is doing, but it's filtering through the main branch and removing any cached reference to a .env file.

4. Next, let's run git push -f to force push this change to the main branch

5. Let's now run git log --oneline to get a list of our modified commit history

6. Paste your log output into this issue as a comment

Here is an example of a log output using `git log --oneline`:

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``` d27dde6 (HEAD -> main, origin/main, origin/HEAD) Merge pull request #8 from Devonianul/add-gitignore 65c1b71 Update .gitignore a9b1b74 Merge add-wolverine-image into main e2262cd Add wolverine image to game 9414843 Merge pull request #6 from Devonianul/a-a-ron-patch-1 16d5372 Create SECURITY.md 28b3625 Merge pull request #1 from Devonianul/update-dependency 3f7b819 Update package.json e9ae69a Change package.json file to highlight where dependency update should go 831b1d1 Add empty .gitignore file 78cfef0 Remove .env file 8f08f15 Add .env file e6e2377 Update README.md and Octocat game 528248c Initial commit ```

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I'll respond below when I see your comment

[github-learning-lab[bot]]

Uh oh @Devonianul, something went wrong! I wasn't expecting this change. Please go over the instructions again and make sure you've followed them as exactly as you can.

Hint:

Make sure you use one of the below commands to remove reference to these commits.

If you would like help troubleshooting, create a post on the GitHub Community board. You might also want to search for your issue to see if other people have resolved it in the past.

[Devonianul]

848cd8c2043f6161a4f0043bffee212777281494

[github-learning-lab[bot]]

Uh oh @Devonianul, something went wrong! I wasn't expecting this change. Please go over the instructions again and make sure you've followed them as exactly as you can.

Hint:

Make sure you use one of the below commands to remove reference to these commits.

If you would like help troubleshooting, create a post on the GitHub Community board. You might also want to search for your issue to see if other people have resolved it in the past.