diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index f94d5805df..c56746211c 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -35,6 +35,10 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 * `jj rebase` now takes the flag `--skip-empty`, which doesn't copy over commits
   that would become empty after a rebase.
 
+* There is a new `jj util gc` command for cleaning up the repository storage.
+  For now, it simply runs `git gc` on the backing Git repo (when using the Git
+  backend).
+
 ### Fixed bugs
 
 * Fixed another file conflict resolution issue where `jj status` would disagree
diff --git a/cli/examples/custom-backend/main.rs b/cli/examples/custom-backend/main.rs
index aee6b603b8..438d7d16e4 100644
--- a/cli/examples/custom-backend/main.rs
+++ b/cli/examples/custom-backend/main.rs
@@ -170,4 +170,8 @@ impl Backend for JitBackend {
     ) -> BackendResult<(CommitId, Commit)> {
         self.inner.write_commit(contents, sign_with)
     }
+
+    fn gc(&self) -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error + Send + Sync>> {
+        self.inner.gc()
+    }
 }
diff --git a/cli/src/commands/util.rs b/cli/src/commands/util.rs
index 3a80de123d..43d68ebc12 100644
--- a/cli/src/commands/util.rs
+++ b/cli/src/commands/util.rs
@@ -15,15 +15,17 @@
 use std::io::Write;
 
 use clap::Subcommand;
+use jj_lib::repo::Repo;
 use tracing::instrument;
 
-use crate::cli_util::{CommandError, CommandHelper};
+use crate::cli_util::{user_error, CommandError, CommandHelper};
 use crate::ui::Ui;
 
 /// Infrequently used commands such as for generating shell completions
 #[derive(Subcommand, Clone, Debug)]
 pub(crate) enum UtilCommand {
     Completion(UtilCompletionArgs),
+    Gc(UtilGcArgs),
     Mangen(UtilMangenArgs),
     ConfigSchema(UtilConfigSchemaArgs),
 }
@@ -56,6 +58,10 @@ pub(crate) struct UtilCompletionArgs {
     zsh: bool,
 }
 
+/// Run backend-dependent garbage collection.
+#[derive(clap::Args, Clone, Debug)]
+pub(crate) struct UtilGcArgs {}
+
 /// Print a ROFF (manpage)
 #[derive(clap::Args, Clone, Debug)]
 pub(crate) struct UtilMangenArgs {}
@@ -72,6 +78,7 @@ pub(crate) fn cmd_util(
 ) -> Result<(), CommandError> {
     match subcommand {
         UtilCommand::Completion(args) => cmd_util_completion(ui, command, args),
+        UtilCommand::Gc(args) => cmd_util_gc(ui, command, args),
         UtilCommand::Mangen(args) => cmd_util_mangen(ui, command, args),
         UtilCommand::ConfigSchema(args) => cmd_util_config_schema(ui, command, args),
     }
@@ -96,6 +103,17 @@ fn cmd_util_completion(
     Ok(())
 }
 
+fn cmd_util_gc(
+    ui: &mut Ui,
+    command: &CommandHelper,
+    _args: &UtilGcArgs,
+) -> Result<(), CommandError> {
+    let workspace_command = command.workspace_helper(ui)?;
+    let store = workspace_command.repo().store();
+    store.gc().map_err(|err| user_error(err.to_string()))?;
+    Ok(())
+}
+
 fn cmd_util_mangen(
     ui: &mut Ui,
     command: &CommandHelper,
diff --git a/docs/git-compatibility.md b/docs/git-compatibility.md
index 4a33c2513e..51375bb6cd 100644
--- a/docs/git-compatibility.md
+++ b/docs/git-compatibility.md
@@ -130,8 +130,8 @@ repos may require you to deal with more involved Jujutsu and Git concepts.
 
 * In co-located repos with a very large number of branches or other refs, `jj`
   commands can get noticeably slower because of the automatic `jj git import`
-  executed on each command. This can be mitigated by occasionally running `git
-  pack-refs --all` to speed up the import.
+  executed on each command. This can be mitigated by occasionally running `jj util
+  gc` to speed up the import (that command includes packing the Git refs).
 
 * Git tools will have trouble with revisions that contain conflicted files. While
   `jj` renders these files with conflict markers in the working copy, they are
diff --git a/lib/src/backend.rs b/lib/src/backend.rs
index a81c183eaf..f0b2bf8cd4 100644
--- a/lib/src/backend.rs
+++ b/lib/src/backend.rs
@@ -533,4 +533,8 @@ pub trait Backend: Send + Sync + Debug {
         contents: Commit,
         sign_with: Option<&mut SigningFn>,
     ) -> BackendResult<(CommitId, Commit)>;
+
+    /// Perform garbage collection.
+    // TODO: pass in the set of commits to keep here
+    fn gc(&self) -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error + Send + Sync>>;
 }
diff --git a/lib/src/git_backend.rs b/lib/src/git_backend.rs
index e0126a93a8..47866e5ddf 100644
--- a/lib/src/git_backend.rs
+++ b/lib/src/git_backend.rs
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ use std::any::Any;
 use std::fmt::{Debug, Error, Formatter};
 use std::io::{Cursor, Read};
 use std::path::Path;
+use std::process::ExitStatus;
 use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex, MutexGuard};
 use std::{fs, str};
 
@@ -94,6 +95,14 @@ impl From<GitBackendError> for BackendError {
     }
 }
 
+#[derive(Debug, Error)]
+pub enum GitGcError {
+    #[error("Failed to run git gc command: {0}")]
+    GcCommand(#[source] std::io::Error),
+    #[error("git gc command exited with an error: {0}")]
+    GcCommandErrorStatus(ExitStatus),
+}
+
 pub struct GitBackend {
     // While gix::Repository can be created from gix::ThreadSafeRepository, it's
     // cheaper to cache the thread-local instance behind a mutex than creating
@@ -1007,6 +1016,18 @@ impl Backend for GitBackend {
         self.save_extra_metadata_table(mut_table, &table_lock)?;
         Ok((id, contents))
     }
+
+    fn gc(&self) -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error + Send + Sync>> {
+        let mut git = std::process::Command::new("git");
+        git.env("GIT_DIR", self.git_repo_path());
+        git.args(["gc"]);
+        // TODO: pass output to UI layer instead of printing directly here
+        let status = git.status().map_err(GitGcError::GcCommand)?;
+        if !status.success() {
+            return Err(Box::new(GitGcError::GcCommandErrorStatus(status)));
+        }
+        Ok(())
+    }
 }
 
 /// Write a tree conflict as a special tree with `.jjconflict-base-N` and
diff --git a/lib/src/local_backend.rs b/lib/src/local_backend.rs
index 09574b5924..c704d23e44 100644
--- a/lib/src/local_backend.rs
+++ b/lib/src/local_backend.rs
@@ -297,6 +297,10 @@ impl Backend for LocalBackend {
             .map_err(to_other_err)?;
         Ok((id, commit))
     }
+
+    fn gc(&self) -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error + Send + Sync>> {
+        Ok(())
+    }
 }
 
 pub fn commit_to_proto(commit: &Commit) -> crate::protos::local_store::Commit {
diff --git a/lib/src/store.rs b/lib/src/store.rs
index f4810bd364..81e002ab77 100644
--- a/lib/src/store.rs
+++ b/lib/src/store.rs
@@ -265,4 +265,8 @@ impl Store {
     pub fn tree_builder(self: &Arc<Self>, base_tree_id: TreeId) -> TreeBuilder {
         TreeBuilder::new(self.clone(), base_tree_id)
     }
+
+    pub fn gc(&self) -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error + Send + Sync>> {
+        self.backend.gc()
+    }
 }
diff --git a/lib/testutils/src/test_backend.rs b/lib/testutils/src/test_backend.rs
index 59ab5037dc..c0657194e2 100644
--- a/lib/testutils/src/test_backend.rs
+++ b/lib/testutils/src/test_backend.rs
@@ -292,4 +292,8 @@ impl Backend for TestBackend {
             .insert(id.clone(), contents.clone());
         Ok((id, contents))
     }
+
+    fn gc(&self) -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error + Send + Sync>> {
+        Ok(())
+    }
 }