AZ-400 Practice Question: Design and implement a source control strategy
This AZ-400 practice question tests your understanding of design and implement a source control strategy. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Which TWO actions help reduce the size of a Git repository over time?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use Git LFS for large binary files.
Option A is correct because Git LFS (Large File Storage) replaces large binary files with text pointers in the repository, storing the actual binary content in an external server. This prevents the repository from bloating with large files that are stored in full in every commit, significantly reducing the repository size over time.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
Use Git LFS for large binary files.
Why this is correct
Git LFS replaces large files with pointers, reducing repo size.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Squash commits before pushing to the remote.
Why it's wrong here
Squashing does not remove file content from history.
✗
Perform shallow clones when cloning the repository.
Why it's wrong here
Shallow clones do not affect the remote repository size.
✗
Regularly run 'git gc' to compress objects.
Why it's wrong here
Git gc only compresses, does not remove files.
✓
Use 'git filter-branch' or 'git filter-repo' to remove obsolete files from history.
Why this is correct
These tools rewrite history to eliminate files.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'reducing repository size' with 'improving performance' or 'reducing clone time', leading them to select shallow clones or commit squashing as valid answers, when in fact only actions that remove or externalize file content (like LFS or history rewriting) actually shrink the repository size.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Git LFS works by intercepting large files via smudge/clean filters in .gitattributes, storing the actual file content in a separate LFS store (e.g., on GitHub or Azure Repos) and committing only a pointer file (typically 100-200 bytes) to the Git repository. The 'git filter-branch' or 'git filter-repo' commands rewrite history by removing files from all commits, which permanently deletes the associated blobs from the object database, but this operation rewrites commit SHAs and requires force-pushing and coordination with all collaborators. In real-world scenarios, teams often combine LFS for ongoing large file management with periodic history rewriting (e.g., using BFG Repo-Cleaner) to purge accidentally committed large files from the past.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this AZ-400 question in full detail.
Design and implement a source control strategy — This question tests Design and implement a source control strategy — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use Git LFS for large binary files. — Option A is correct because Git LFS (Large File Storage) replaces large binary files with text pointers in the repository, storing the actual binary content in an external server. This prevents the repository from bloating with large files that are stored in full in every commit, significantly reducing the repository size over time.
What should I do if I get this AZ-400 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
This AZ-400 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the AZ-400 exam.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.