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copied!<p>I <em>think</em> what you're actually asking boils down to: "if I do <code>git branch -d old_homepage</code> will the commits get lost", and the answer is: "Deleting the name only deletes the <em>name</em>; the commits themselves stick around as long as you can see them in <code>git log --all</code>, and actually even longer."</p> <p>To visualize this better, run something like <code>gitk --all</code> or <code>gitk --tags</code> (try both on some complex git repos). Scroll around through the commits. Now imagine putting a sticky note on any commit. That's a "tag" or "branch" name. Take the sticky note off. Commit is still there, right? :-)</p> <p>That leaves one obvious question: when do things like commits <em>actually</em> go away? The answer is: only after you remove <em>all</em> the names that lead to them. The <code>gitk</code> command (like most other git commands) starts with the name <code>HEAD</code>. If you give it <code>--all</code> it adds all the branch names it can find. If you give it <code>--tags</code> it adds all the tag names it can find. Then it works backwards, looking at each commit to see what other commit(s) it refers to.</p> <p>Git removes things (commits, etc) when there is no way to find them by starting at one of these obvious names and working backwards. (Even then it waits a long time, 30 to 90 days by default.) So, if you add a branch or tag label to an old commit whose number you found by doing <code>git log</code> for instance, that gives you a new obvious name for that commit number; but removing again it is safe as long as it's not the <em>only</em> way to find it by name.</p>

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