diff --git a/swh/vault/cookers/git_bare.py b/swh/vault/cookers/git_bare.py
--- a/swh/vault/cookers/git_bare.py
+++ b/swh/vault/cookers/git_bare.py
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 
 import datetime
 import enum
+import glob
 import logging
 import os.path
 import re
@@ -152,6 +153,10 @@
         subprocess.run(["git", "-C", self.gitdir, "init", "--bare"], check=True)
         self.create_object_dirs()
 
+        # Remove example hooks; they take ~40KB and we don't use them
+        for filename in glob.glob(os.path.join(self.gitdir, "hooks", "*.sample")):
+            os.unlink(filename)
+
     def create_object_dirs(self) -> None:
         # Create all possible dirs ahead of time, so we don't have to check for
         # existence every time.