Git‑LFS: Why Binary Files Need a Special Treatment

Git was designed for text‑based source code. When you add large binaries (images, videos, compiled artifacts) to a repo, several problems arise:

  • Repository bloat: Every version of a binary is stored in the repo, making the clone size huge.
  • Performance hit: Operations like git clone, git fetch and git status become slower.
  • Disk space waste: Binaries are often binary‑identical between commits; Git still keeps a copy each time.
  • Network traffic: Team members download the full binary each time, even when only metadata changes.

Git‑LFS (Large File Storage) addresses these issues by replacing binaries with lightweight pointers in the repo.

Git‑LFS – A Quick Overview

  • Extension that lets you store large files outside the Git repository.
  • In the repo you keep a tiny pointer file (~100 bytes).
  • The actual binary is stored on a dedicated LFS server (e.g., GitHub LFS, GitLab LFS, or self‑hosted).
  • Git‑LFS works transparently – you continue using normal git add/commit/push commands.

Benefit snapshot:

  • Repo size stays small.
  • Clones and pulls are faster.
  • Bandwidth usage is minimized.

When to Apply Git‑LFS

  • Large assets: images > 100 KB, audio/video, PDFs, compiled binaries.
  • Frequent updates: assets that change often but are large.
  • Multiple contributors: teams that clone and pull regularly.
  • CI/CD pipelines: need fast artifact fetches.

**Rule of thumb:** If a file grows > 50 MB or you hit > 1 GB repo size, consider Git‑LFS.

Core Git‑LFS Concepts

  • Pointer file: a tiny text file that lives in Git, containing a hash and the file size.
  • Object storage: binary content stored in an LFS server with a unique ID (SHA‑256).
  • Transfer hooks: Git‑LFS runs pre‑push and post‑fetch hooks to upload/download binaries.
  • .gitattributes: file patterns to tell Git‑LFS which files to track.
# Example .gitattributes entry
assets/*.png filter=lfs diff=lfs merge=lfs -text

Installation Steps

  1. Install Git‑LFS on your machine (see Git‑LFS website).
  2. Initialize in your repository: 
    git lfs install
  3. Track the file types you need: 
    git lfs track "*.png"
git lfs track "*.mp4"
  4. Commit the new .gitattributes file: 
    git add .gitattributes
git commit -m "Track large assets with Git‑LFS"

Typical Workflow with Git‑LFS

  • Add and commit as usual; Git‑LFS replaces the binary with a pointer.
  • Push to remote: Git‑LFS uploads the actual binary to the LFS server.
  • Clone/fetch/pull: Git‑LFS automatically downloads the binaries when you get a commit.
  • Git commands (diff, status) work normally; LFS hides the complexity.

All this is handled by the git lfs helper installed earlier.

How Data Is Saved & Transferred

Local Commit

  1. Write file → Git‑LFS hook creates a pointer file (small text). The real file is stored locally in ~/.git/lfs/objects.
  2. Pointer is added to Git index; commit stores only the pointer.

Push

  1. Git‑LFS runs post-push hook.
  2. All new objects in ~/.git/lfs/objects are uploaded via HTTP(S) to the LFS endpoint.
  3. Server stores objects in a content‑addressable store.

Clone/Fetch

  1. Git receives pointers.
  2. Git‑LFS runs post-fetch hook to download binary objects from the LFS server.
  3. Files are restored to the working tree.

Result: the Git history stays tiny; only the binary data lives on the LFS server.

Pros & Cons of Git‑LFS

ProsCons
Smaller repo size Requires a separate LFS server or hosting plan (GitHub LFS has bandwidth limits)
Faster clones & pulls Additional overhead during push (upload to LFS)
Works with existing Git workflow Complexity for beginners (install & configure hooks)
Large binary support (e.g., game assets, machine‑learning weights) Potential storage cost on hosted services

Takeaway & Next Steps

  • Large binaries are a performance hazard for Git. Git‑LFS solves it.
  • Setup is straightforward: git lfs install + git lfs track.
  • Make sure to commit the .gitattributes file and share it with teammates.
  • Monitor your LFS usage on your hosting provider; set quotas if necessary.
  • Test by cloning a fresh copy and verifying that binaries appear correctly.

Ready to keep your repo lean and your team fast? Start adding Git‑LFS today!