Storage optimization with alternates

Hi,

I have a potential problem with my workflow: I mirror several hg 
repositories into git with one git repo per hg repo. Out of these and 
via remotes config, I set up another tree I actually work with having 
the master branch map to the hg HEAD branch of the official repo and 
topic branches for all other git repos.

The git tree for the main one and all other mirrors mostly share the 
same objects as hg2git and git-fast-import fortunately produce stable 
SHA1 checksums.

Is there any way I can clean up the feature repos by saying "remove all 
objects that you can reach via alternates already"?

If there's nothing like that, would git get confused if I simply moved 
the plain binary object files around from one dir to the other and 
setting up alternates?

I cloned the working repo from the main one using alternates and hope 
git doesn't fetch objects again it can already reach via alternates.

Somehow related is another git-fast-import feature request (maybe): when 
it attempts to add objects to the pack file with SHA1s it can already 
reach via alternates, don't add them to the pack. If that worked (I 
didn't check), I would only have the main repo with all the objects and 
the feature repos pretty lightweight...

   bye, Rocco
-- 
:wq!