I have a repository with around 3000 commits where i want to squash around 250 of them in the middle of history between two dates like this:
a--b--c--d--e--f--g--h--i--j--k--l--m--n
a--b--c--d'-------------------k--l--m--n
I already know the dates and shas of d and j. What is the best practice to do this?
You can also try a different approach which is kind of similar to the merge approach.
Note: Assuming n to be the latest and a be the oldest commit.
Create a new branch with commit k as head.
git checkout -b new-branch <commit hash of k>
Then, soft reset the head to the parent of commit d.
git reset --soft <commit hash of parent of d>
Commit the changes, as all the changes from commit d to k are not present in the staging area. (git status to verify)
git commit
Merge the commits post k,
git cherry-pick l^...n # Use SHA's of l and n