title: can I save space in a git repo by squashing commits?
body: <p>If I have a git repository with an initial commit followed by 100 small commits that change 100 files, with each one just making one change to one file, can I save space by squashing those 100 commits into one big 100-files-changed commit?  For instance:</p>
  
  <pre><code>$ git checkout master
  Already on branch 'master'.
  $ git reset --soft HEAD~100 &amp;&amp; git commit -m 'squash last 100 commits'
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>will replace the tip of branch <code>master</code> with a new commit that has the same contents as the old commit, but leaves the 100 previous commits out of its history.  How much space might this save?</p>