Git LFS

Git LFS

Installing and Initializing Git LFS

Git LFS 127,865 (github.com/git-lfs/git-lfs (https://github.com/git-lfs/git-lfs 14,518 ), MIT) stores a small pointer in Git 1,932 and the content on an LFS server, which GitHub 29 , GitLab 377 , Bitbucket 2,046 , Gitea 3,896 and Forgejo 16,221 provide. Install it with sudo apt install git-lfs (3.7.1 on Ubuntu 26.04 225 ; the latest is 3.8.0), brew 6,457 install git-lfs or the Git for Windows 47,417 installer. Sam builds the project's reference server with go install github.com/git-lfs/lfs-test-server@v0.4.0 and runs it locally:

Enabling Git LFS next to Husky and starting a local LFS serverShell

git lfs version
git lfs install
for h in pre-push post-checkout post-commit post-merge; do
  echo "git lfs $h \"\$@\"" > .husky/$h
done
mkdir -p ../lfs
LFS_LISTEN=tcp://127.0.0.1:32080 LFS_HOST=127.0.0.1:32080 LFS_PUBLIC=true \
  LFS_CONTENTPATH=../lfs/content LFS_METADB=../lfs/lfs.db lfs-test-server > ../lfs/log 2>&1 &
git config -f .lfsconfig lfs.url http://127.0.0.1:32080/sam/booknest

Output

git-lfs/3.7.1 (GitHub; linux amd64; go 1.25.0)
Hook already exists: pre-push
...
  1: run `git lfs update --manual` for instructions on how to merge hooks.
  2: run `git lfs update --force` to overwrite your hook.

git lfs install adds the filter.lfs clean and smudge commands to your global configuration, which worked, and installs four repository hooks, which collided with Husky 35,333 's wrappers (Husky for Node.js Projects); in a plain repository it prints "Git LFS initialized." The loop adds the four calls as Husky hooks instead. Without pre-push, pushes would send pointers without content. The committed .lfsconfig tells clones where the server is; GitHub and GitLab need none, as LFS derives <remote>.git/info/lfs from the remote URL and reuses your Git credentials. LFS_PUBLIC=true turns off authentication, fine for a local test only.

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