# Git Large File Storage

[![CI status][ci_badge]][ci_url]

[ci_badge]: https://github.com/git-lfs/git-lfs/workflows/CI/badge.svg
[ci_url]: https://github.com/git-lfs/git-lfs/actions?query=workflow%3ACI

[Git LFS](https://git-lfs.github.com) is a command line extension and
[specification](docs/spec.md) for managing large files with Git.

The client is written in Go, with pre-compiled binaries available for Mac,
Windows, Linux, and FreeBSD. Check out the [website](http://git-lfs.github.com)
for an overview of features.

## Getting Started

### Installing

#### On Linux

Debian and RPM packages are available from packagecloud, see the [Linux installation instructions](INSTALLING.md).

#### On macOS

[Homebrew](https://brew.sh) bottles are distributed and can be installed via `brew install git-lfs`.

#### On Windows

Git LFS is included in the distribution of [Git for Windows](https://gitforwindows.org/).
Alternatively, you can install a recent version of Git LFS from the [Chocolatey](https://chocolatey.org/) package manager.

#### Using mise-en-place

If you are using the [mise-en-place](https://github.com/jdx/mise) tool manager, Git LFS can be installed and made available in all of your project directories by running:

```ShellSession
$ mise use --global git-lfs@latest
```

The `mise` utility supports Linux, macOS, and Windows, and provides various configuration options including system-wide settings for all users. See the project [documentation](https://mise.jdx.dev) for details on how to use this utility to manage your tools, environment variables, and also some tasks.

#### From binary

[Binary packages](https://github.com/git-lfs/git-lfs/releases) are
available for Linux, macOS, Windows, and FreeBSD.
The binary packages include a script which will:

- Install Git LFS binaries onto the system `$PATH`.  On Windows in particular, you may need to restart your command shell so any change to `$PATH` will take effect and Git can locate the Git LFS binary.
- Run `git lfs install` to perform required global configuration changes.

```ShellSession
$ ./install.sh
```

Note that Debian and RPM packages are built for multiple Linux distributions and versions for both amd64 and i386.
For arm64, only Debian packages are built and only for recent versions due to the cost of building in emulation.

#### From source

- Ensure you have the latest version of Go, GNU make, and a standard Unix-compatible build environment installed.
- On Windows, install `goversioninfo` with `go install github.com/josephspurrier/goversioninfo/cmd/goversioninfo@latest`.
- Run `make`.
- Place the `git-lfs` binary, which can be found in `bin`, on your system’s executable `$PATH` or equivalent.
- Git LFS requires global configuration changes once per-machine. This can be done by
running: `git lfs install`

#### Verifying releases

Releases are signed with the OpenPGP key of one of the core team members.  To
get these keys, you can run the following command, which will print them to
standard output:

```ShellSession
$ curl -L https://api.github.com/repos/git-lfs/git-lfs/tarball/core-gpg-keys | tar -Ozxf -
```

Once you have the keys, you can download the `sha256sums.asc` file and verify
the file you want like so:

```ShellSession
$ gpg -d sha256sums.asc | grep git-lfs-linux-amd64-v2.10.0.tar.gz | shasum -a 256 -c
```

For the convenience of distributors, we also provide a wider variety of signed
hashes in the `hashes.asc` file.  Those hashes are in the tagged BSD format, but
can be verified with Perl's `shasum` or the GNU hash utilities, just like the
ones in `sha256sums.asc`.

## Example Usage

To begin using Git LFS within a Git repository that is not already configured
for Git LFS, you can indicate which files you would like Git LFS to manage.
This can be done by running the following _from within a Git repository_:

```bash
$ git lfs track "*.psd"
```

(Where `*.psd` is the pattern of filenames that you wish to track. You can read
more about this pattern syntax
[here](https://git-scm.com/docs/gitattributes)).

> *Note:* the quotation marks surrounding the pattern are important to
> prevent the glob pattern from being expanded by the shell.

After any invocation of `git-lfs-track(1)` or `git-lfs-untrack(1)`, you _must
commit changes to your `.gitattributes` file_. This can be done by running:

```bash
$ git add .gitattributes
$ git commit -m "track *.psd files using Git LFS"
```

You can now interact with your Git repository as usual, and Git LFS will take
care of managing your large files. For example, changing a file named `my.psd`
(tracked above via `*.psd`):

```bash
$ git add my.psd
$ git commit -m "add psd"
```

> _Tip:_ if you have large files already in your repository's history, `git lfs
> track` will _not_ track them retroactively. To migrate existing large files
> in your history to use Git LFS, use `git lfs migrate`. For example:
>
> ```
> $ git lfs migrate import --include="*.psd" --everything
> ```
>
> **Note that this will rewrite history and change all of the Git object IDs in your
> repository, just like the export version of this command.**
>
> For more information, read [`git-lfs-migrate(1)`](https://github.com/git-lfs/git-lfs/blob/main/docs/man/git-lfs-migrate.adoc).

You can confirm that Git LFS is managing your PSD file:

```bash
$ git lfs ls-files
3c2f7aedfb * my.psd
```

Once you've made your commits, push your files to the Git remote:

```bash
$ git push origin main
Uploading LFS objects: 100% (1/1), 810 B, 1.2 KB/s
# ...
To https://github.com/git-lfs/git-lfs-test
   67fcf6a..47b2002  main -> main
```

### Uninstalling

If you've decided that Git LFS isn't right for you, you can convert your
repository back to a plain Git repository with `git lfs migrate` as well.  For
example:

```ShellSession
$ git lfs migrate export --include="*.psd" --everything
```

**Note that this will rewrite history and change all of the Git object IDs in your
repository, just like the import version of this command.**

If there's some reason that things aren't working out for you, please let us
know in an issue, and we'll definitely try to help or get it fixed.

## Limitations

Git LFS maintains a list of currently known limitations, which you can find and
edit [here](https://github.com/git-lfs/git-lfs/wiki/Limitations).

Current releases of Git LFS will work with Git versions as early as
Git 2.0.0.  However, for best performance, using a recent version of Git
is highly recommended.

Git LFS source code utilizes Go modules in its build system, and therefore this
project contains a `go.mod` file with a defined Go module path.  However, we
do not maintain a stable Go language API or ABI, as Git LFS is intended to be
used solely as a compiled binary utility.  Please do not import the `git-lfs`
module into other Go code and do not rely on it as a source code dependency.

## Need Help?

You can get help on specific commands directly:

```bash
$ git lfs help <subcommand>
```

The [official documentation](docs) has command references and specifications for
the tool.  There's also a [FAQ](https://github.com/git-lfs/git-lfs/blob/main/docs/man/git-lfs-faq.adoc)
shipped with Git LFS which answers some common questions.

If you have a question on how to use Git LFS, aren't sure about something, or
are looking for input from others on tips about best practices or use cases,
feel free to
[start a discussion](https://github.com/git-lfs/git-lfs/discussions).

You can always [open an issue](https://github.com/git-lfs/git-lfs/issues), and
one of the Core Team members will respond to you. Please be sure to include:

1. The output of `git lfs env`, which displays helpful information about your
   Git repository useful in debugging.
2. Any failed commands re-run with `GIT_TRACE=1` in the environment, which
   displays additional information pertaining to why a command crashed.

## Contributing

See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for info on working on Git LFS and
sending patches. Related projects are listed on the [Implementations wiki
page](https://github.com/git-lfs/git-lfs/wiki/Implementations).

See also [SECURITY.md](SECURITY.md) for info on how to submit reports
of security vulnerabilities.

## Core Team

These are the humans that form the Git LFS core team, which runs the project.

In alphabetical order:

| [@chrisd8088][chrisd8088-user] | [@larsxschneider][larsxschneider-user] |
| :---: | :---: |
| [![][chrisd8088-img]][chrisd8088-user] | [![][larsxschneider-img]][larsxschneider-user] |
| [PGP 088335A9][chrisd8088-pgp] | [PGP A5795889][larsxschneider-pgp] |

[chrisd8088-img]: https://avatars1.githubusercontent.com/u/28857117?s=100&v=4
[larsxschneider-img]: https://avatars1.githubusercontent.com/u/477434?s=100&v=4
[chrisd8088-user]: https://github.com/chrisd8088
[larsxschneider-user]: https://github.com/larsxschneider
[chrisd8088-pgp]: https://keyserver.ubuntu.com/pks/lookup?op=get&search=0x86cd3297749375bcf8206715f54fe648088335a9
[larsxschneider-pgp]: https://keyserver.ubuntu.com/pks/lookup?op=get&search=0xaa3b3450295830d2de6db90caba67be5a5795889

### Alumni

These are the humans that have in the past formed the Git LFS core team, or
have otherwise contributed a significant amount to the project. Git LFS would
not be possible without them.

In alphabetical order:

| [@andyneff][andyneff-user] | [@bk2204][bk2204-user] | [@PastelMobileSuit][PastelMobileSuit-user] | [@rubyist][rubyist-user] | [@sinbad][sinbad-user] | [@technoweenie][technoweenie-user] | [@ttaylorr][ttaylorr-user] |
| :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: |
| [![][andyneff-img]][andyneff-user] | [![][bk2204-img]][bk2204-user] | [![][PastelMobileSuit-img]][PastelMobileSuit-user] | [![][rubyist-img]][rubyist-user] | [![][sinbad-img]][sinbad-user] | [![][technoweenie-img]][technoweenie-user] | [![][ttaylorr-img]][ttaylorr-user] |

[andyneff-img]: https://avatars1.githubusercontent.com/u/7596961?v=3&s=100
[bk2204-img]: https://avatars1.githubusercontent.com/u/497054?s=100&v=4
[PastelMobileSuit-img]: https://avatars2.githubusercontent.com/u/37254014?s=100&v=4
[rubyist-img]: https://avatars1.githubusercontent.com/u/143?v=3&s=100
[sinbad-img]: https://avatars1.githubusercontent.com/u/142735?v=3&s=100
[technoweenie-img]: https://avatars3.githubusercontent.com/u/21?v=3&s=100
[ttaylorr-img]: https://avatars2.githubusercontent.com/u/443245?s=100&v=4
[andyneff-user]: https://github.com/andyneff
[bk2204-user]: https://github.com/bk2204
[PastelMobileSuit-user]: https://github.com/PastelMobileSuit
[sinbad-user]: https://github.com/sinbad
[rubyist-user]: https://github.com/rubyist
[technoweenie-user]: https://github.com/technoweenie
[ttaylorr-user]: https://github.com/ttaylorr
