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. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 team is using Git with Azure Repos. A developer accidentally committed a large binary file to the main branch. What is the recommended way to permanently remove it from the repository history?
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-branch' to remove the file from history
Option D is correct because `git filter-branch` (or its modern replacement `git filter-repo`) rewrites the entire repository history to permanently remove a file from all commits. This is the recommended approach when a large binary file has been committed to the main branch and must be expunged from history to reduce repository size and prevent it from being cloned by others.
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.
✗
Delete the file and commit the deletion
Why it's wrong here
The file remains in history and increases repository size.
✗
Ignore the file using .gitignore
Why it's wrong here
.gitignore only prevents future commits, does not remove existing history.
✗
Revert the commit using 'git revert'
Why it's wrong here
Revert adds a new commit that undoes changes, but the file remains in history.
✓
Use 'git filter-branch' to remove the file from history
Why this is correct
This rewrites history to remove the file entirely.
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 `git revert` (which creates a new commit that undoes changes but preserves history) with `git filter-branch` (which rewrites history to permanently remove content), leading them to choose option C despite it leaving the large file accessible in the commit log.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, `git filter-branch` iterates over every commit in the repository's DAG (Directed Acyclic Graph) and rewrites each commit object to exclude the specified file, effectively creating a new, clean history. This operation changes commit SHA-1 hashes, so all downstream clones must be force-pushed and collaborators must rebase their work. For large repositories, `git filter-repo` is now preferred as it is significantly faster and safer, using a more efficient C-based implementation.
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-branch' to remove the file from history — Option D is correct because `git filter-branch` (or its modern replacement `git filter-repo`) rewrites the entire repository history to permanently remove a file from all commits. This is the recommended approach when a large binary file has been committed to the main branch and must be expunged from history to reduce repository size and prevent it from being cloned by others.
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.
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Question Discussion
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