How to use the command git lfs (with examples)
Git Large File Storage (LFS) is an extension for Git that allows users to work with large files in Git repositories. It replaces large files with text pointers inside Git, while the actual file contents are stored on a separate server.
Use case 1: Initialize Git LFS
Code:
git lfs install
Motivation: The git lfs install command initializes Git LFS in a local repository. It sets up the necessary Git hooks and configuration to enable the tracking and management of large files.
Explanation: The git lfs install command sets up the Git hooks required for Git LFS. It installs the Git LFS pre-push and post-checkout hooks, which automatically handle Git LFS actions when pushing or checking out files in the repository.
Example output:
Updated pre-push hook.
Updated post-checkout hook.
LFS initialized.
Use case 2: Track files that match a glob
Code:
git lfs track '*.bin'
Motivation: The git lfs track command allows you to specify file patterns that should be tracked by Git LFS. By using globs, you can easily specify multiple file types to be tracked.
Explanation: The git lfs track command specifies a file pattern that should be tracked by Git LFS. In this example, *.bin is the file pattern that matches all files with the .bin extension. When committing such files, Git LFS will automatically handle the management and tracking of these large files.
Example output:
Tracking '*.bin'
Use case 3: Change the Git LFS endpoint URL
Code:
git config -f .lfsconfig lfs.url lfs_endpoint_url
Motivation: The git config command with the -f flag allows you to change the Git LFS endpoint URL. This is useful if the LFS server is separate from the Git server and you want to specify a custom endpoint.
Explanation: The git config -f .lfsconfig lfs.url lfs_endpoint_url command modifies the Git LFS configuration file (.lfsconfig) to set a custom Git LFS endpoint URL. By specifying lfs_endpoint_url as the custom URL, you can configure Git LFS to connect to a separate LFS server.
Example output: No output is produced by this command, but the Git LFS configuration file will be updated with the custom endpoint URL.
Use case 4: List tracked patterns
Code:
git lfs track
Motivation: The git lfs track command helps you identify the file patterns that are currently being tracked by Git LFS in the repository. This can be useful to verify the configuration and ensure that the desired files are included in Git LFS.
Explanation: The git lfs track command lists the file patterns that are being tracked by Git LFS. It shows the patterns that were set up using the git lfs track command, as well as any default patterns defined globally. This information allows you to confirm that the files you intended to track are included.
Example output:
Listing tracked patterns
*.bin
Use case 5: List tracked files that have been committed
Code:
git lfs ls-files
Motivation: The git lfs ls-files command allows you to view the list of large files that have been committed to the repository and are currently tracked by Git LFS. This can be helpful to ensure that large files are being properly tracked and managed.
Explanation: The git lfs ls-files command lists the paths of large files that are currently tracked by Git LFS and have been committed to the repository. It displays a list of these files, making it easy to review and verify that the correct files are being included in Git LFS.
Example output:
file1.bin
file2.bin
Use case 6: Push all Git LFS objects to the remote server
Code:
git lfs push --all remote_name branch_name
Motivation: The git lfs push command with the --all option allows you to push all Git LFS objects to a remote server. This is useful when you encounter errors during a regular push and need to specifically push the LFS objects.
Explanation: The git lfs push --all remote_name branch_name command pushes all Git LFS objects to the specified remote server and branch. By providing remote_name as the name of the remote repository and branch_name as the branch to push to, you can ensure that all LFS objects are correctly pushed when normal push fails.
Example output: No output is shown unless there are errors during the push. In case of errors, detailed information about the failed operations will be displayed.
Use case 7: Fetch all Git LFS objects
Code:
git lfs fetch
Motivation: The git lfs fetch command allows you to retrieve all Git LFS objects from a remote server. This is useful when you want to ensure that you have the most up-to-date LFS objects in your local repository.
Explanation: The git lfs fetch command retrieves all Git LFS objects that exist on the remote server but are missing in the local repository. It ensures that you have the latest versions of the LFS objects for the files being tracked in Git LFS.
Example output: No output is shown unless there are changes to be fetched. If there are missing LFS objects on the remote server, they will be downloaded and the progress will be displayed.
Use case 8: Checkout all Git LFS objects
Code:
git lfs checkout
Motivation: The git lfs checkout command retrieves the actual contents of large files that are stored in Git LFS. This is essential to be able to work with and make changes to these files.
Explanation: The git lfs checkout command retrieves the actual contents of large files tracked by Git LFS and replaces the text pointers in the repository with the actual file contents. This allows you to work with and modify the large files as needed.
Example output: No output is shown unless there are LFS objects to be retrieved. If there are large files that need to be checked out, their progress will be displayed along with a summary of the files that were checked out.
Conclusion:
Git LFS provides a convenient way to work with large files in Git repositories. By using the various commands illustrated in this article, you can effectively manage and track large files within your Git workflow. Whether it’s initializing Git LFS, tracking files, changing the endpoint URL, or performing other operations, Git LFS makes it easier to handle large file storage in Git.
