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.
Your organization uses GitHub Advanced Security. A developer accidentally committed a file containing production database connection strings to a feature branch. The push was not yet merged into main. What is the best way to remove the secrets from the branch history while minimizing disruption?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use git filter-repo to remove the file from the branch's history, then force push the branch.
Option A is correct because `git filter-repo` is the recommended modern tool for rewriting Git history, including removing a specific file from all commits in a branch. After rewriting the branch's history to exclude the file, a force push (`git push --force`) overwrites the remote branch, effectively purging the secret from the branch's history. This approach minimizes disruption by preserving the branch's other commits and avoiding the need to recreate the branch or lose work.
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 filter-repo to remove the file from the branch's history, then force push the branch.
Why this is correct
git filter-repo completely removes the file from all commits, and force push updates the remote.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use BFG Repo-Cleaner to delete the file from the branch's history, then force push.
Why it's wrong here
BFG is effective but git filter-repo is the recommended modern tool.
✗
Delete the feature branch and have the developer recreate the branch without the secret file.
Why it's wrong here
This loses all commits on the branch, not just the secret.
✗
Revert the commit that added the file, then push the revert.
Why it's wrong here
Reverting leaves the secret in the history, accessible via git log.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse reverting a commit (which only adds a new commit and does not remove the secret from history) with rewriting history (which actually purges the secret), leading them to choose the revert option despite its failure to address the security concern.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, `git filter-repo` rewrites the commit graph by applying a filter (e.g., `--path` to remove a file) to each commit, then updates branch references to point to the new, sanitized history. This tool is built on Git's fast-import/export mechanism and handles edge cases like merge commits and signed tags more robustly than older tools like `git filter-branch`. In a real-world scenario, after force pushing the rewritten branch, all other developers must rebase their local work on the new history to avoid reintroducing the secret.
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 cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
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 filter-repo to remove the file from the branch's history, then force push the branch. — Option A is correct because `git filter-repo` is the recommended modern tool for rewriting Git history, including removing a specific file from all commits in a branch. After rewriting the branch's history to exclude the file, a force push (`git push --force`) overwrites the remote branch, effectively purging the secret from the branch's history. This approach minimizes disruption by preserving the branch's other commits and avoiding the need to recreate the branch or lose work.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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