Managing large files in Git can be challenging, but Git Large File Storage (LFS) offers a solution. Git LFS handles large files by replacing them with text pointers inside Git while storing the actual content on a remote server. This guide will walk you through the process of installing Git LFS on a Linux system.

Steps To Install Git LFS on Linux

Step 1: Update Your Package List

Ensure your package list is up-to-date before installing new software. Open your terminal and run:

sudo apt update

Step 2: Install Git LFS

Depending on your Linux distribution, the installation command might differ. For Ubuntu and Debian-based systems, use:

sudo apt install git-lfs

For Fedora-based systems, use:

sudo dnf install git-lfs

Step 3: Verify the Installation

After the installation is complete, verify it by checking the Git LFS version:

git lfs --version

This command should display the installed version of Git LFS, confirming that the installation was successful.

Step 4: Initialize Git LFS in Your Repository

To start using Git LFS in a specific repository, navigate to the repository’s directory and initialize Git LFS:

git lfs install

This command sets up Git LFS for your repository, making it ready to track large files.

Step 5: Track Large Files

Specify the types of files you want Git LFS to manage. For example, to track all .psd files, run:

git lfs track "*.psd"

You can track multiple file types by repeating this command with different file patterns.

Step 6: Add and Commit the Changes

After specifying the files to be tracked by Git LFS, add and commit these changes to your repository:

git add .gitattributes
git commit -m "Track PSD files with Git LFS"

The .gitattributes file keeps track of the file patterns that Git LFS manages.

Step 7: Push to Remote Repository

When you push your changes to a remote repository, Git LFS ensures that the large files are stored separately:

git push origin main

Replace main with the name of your branch if it’s different.

Additional Tips

• Check LFS Storage Usage To monitor the storage usage of your Git LFS objects, use:

  git lfs ls-files

• Untrack Files If you need to stop tracking a file type, update your .gitattributes file and remove the specific pattern. Then run:

  git lfs untrack "*.psd"
  git add .gitattributes
  git commit -m "Stop tracking PSD files with Git LFS"
  git push origin main

Conclusion

Git Large File Storage is a powerful tool for managing large files in Git repositories. By following these steps, you can easily install and configure Git LFS on your Linux system, ensuring efficient handling of large files in your projects. Whether you’re working with media files, datasets, or any other large content, Git LFS simplifies the management and storage, keeping your repository lean and efficient.

By integrating Git LFS into your workflow, you can avoid common issues related to large file management in Git, improving both performance and collaboration within your team.