title: Remove large .pack file created by git
body: <p>I checked a load of files in to a branch and merged and then had to remove them and now I'm left with a large .pack file that I don't know how to get rid of. </p>
  
  <p>I deleted all the files using <code>git rm -rf xxxxxx</code> and I also ran the <code>--cached</code> option as well.</p>
  
  <p>Can someone tell me how I can remove a large .pack file that is currently in the following directory:</p>
  
  <p><code>.git/objects/pack/pack-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.pack</code></p>
  
  <p>Do I just need to remove the branch that I still have but am no longer using? Or is there something else I need to run?</p>
  
  <p>I'm not sure how much difference it makes but it shows a padlock against the file.</p>
  
  <p>Thanks</p>
  
  <hr>
  
  <p>EDIT</p>
  
  <p>Here are some excerpts from my bash_history that should give an idea how I managed to get into this state (assume at this point I'm working on a git branch called 'my-branch' and I've got a folder containing more folders/files):</p>
  
  <pre><code>git add .
  git commit -m "Adding my branch changes to master"
  git checkout master
  git merge my-branch
  git rm -rf unwanted_folder/
  rm -rf unwanted_folder/     (not sure why I ran this as well but I did)
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I thought I also ran the following but it doesn't appear in the bash_history with the others :</p>
  
  <pre><code>git rm -rf --cached unwanted_folder/
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I also thought I ran some git commands (like <code>git gc</code>) to try to tidy up the pack file but they don't appear in the .bash_history file either.</p>