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diff --git a/doc/workflow/lfs/manage_large_binaries_with_git_lfs.md b/doc/workflow/lfs/manage_large_binaries_with_git_lfs.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..b59e92cb317 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/workflow/lfs/manage_large_binaries_with_git_lfs.md @@ -0,0 +1,126 @@ +# Git LFS + +Managing large files such as audio, video and graphics files has always been one of the shortcomings of Git. +The general recommendation is to not have Git repositories larger than 1GB to preserve performance. + +GitLab already supports [managing large files with git annex](http://doc.gitlab.com/ee/workflow/git_annex.html) (EE only), however in certain +environments it is not always convenient to use different commands to differentiate between the large files and regular ones. + +Git LFS makes this simpler for the end user by removing the requirement to learn new commands. + +## How it works + +Git LFS client talks with the GitLab server over HTTPS. It uses HTTP Basic Authentication to authorize client requests. +Once the request is authorized, Git LFS client receives instructions from where to fetch or where to push the large file. + +## GitLab server configuration + +Documentation for GitLab instance administrators is under [LFS administration doc](lfs_administration.md). + +## Requirements + +* Git LFS is supported in GitLab starting with version 8.2 +* [Git LFS client](https://git-lfs.github.com) version 1.0.1 and up + +## Known limitations + +* Git LFS v1 original API is not supported since it was deprecated early in LFS development +* When SSH is set as a remote, Git LFS objects still go through HTTPS +* Any Git LFS request will ask for HTTPS credentials to be provided so good Git credentials store is recommended +* Git LFS always assumes HTTPS so if you have GitLab server on HTTP you will have to add the URL to Git config manually (see #troubleshooting) + +## Using Git LFS + +Lets take a look at the workflow when you need to check large files into your Git repository with Git LFS: +For example, if you want to upload a very large file and check it into your Git repository: + +```bash +git clone git@gitlab.example.com:group/project.git +git lfs init # initialize the Git LFS project project +git lfs track "*.iso" # select the file extensions that you want to treat as large files +``` + +Once a certain file extension is marked for tracking as a LFS object you can use Git as usual without having to redo the command to track a file with the same extension: + +```bash +cp ~/tmp/debian.iso ./ # copy a large file into the current directory +git add . # add the large file to the project +git commit -am "Added Debian iso" # commit the file meta data +git push origin master # sync the git repo and large file to the GitLab server +``` + +Cloning the repository works the same as before. Git automatically detects the LFS-tracked files and clones them via HTTP. If you performed the git clone command with a SSH URL, you have to enter your GitLab credentials for HTTP authentication. + +```bash +git clone git@gitlab.example.com:group/project.git +``` + +If you already cloned the repository and you want to get the latest LFS object that are on the remote repository, eg. from branch `master`: + +```bash +git lfs fetch master +``` + +## Troubleshooting + +### error: Repository or object not found + +There are a couple of reasons why this error can occur: + +* You don't have permissions to access certain LFS object + +Check if you have permissions to push to the project or fetch from the project. + +* Project is not allowed to access the LFS object + +LFS object you are trying to push to the project or fetch from the project is not available to the project anymore. +Probably the object was removed from the server. + +* Local git repository is using deprecated LFS API + +### Invalid status for <url> : 501 + +Git LFS will log the failures into a log file. +To view this log file, while in project directory: + +```bash +git lfs logs last +``` + +If the status `error 501` is shown, it is because: + +* Git LFS support is not enabled on the GitLab server. Check with your GitLab administrator why Git LFS is not enabled on the server. See [LFS administration documentation](lfs_administration.md) for instructions on how to enable LFS support. + +* Git LFS client version is not supported by GitLab server. Check your Git LFS version with `git lfs version`. Check the Git config of the project for traces of deprecated API with `git lfs -l`. If `batch = false` is set in the config, remove the line and try to update your Git LFS client. Only version 1.0.1 and newer are supported. + +### getsockopt: connection refused + +If you push a LFS object to a project and you receive an error similar to: `Post <URL>/info/lfs/objects/batch: dial tcp IP: getsockopt: connection refused`, +the LFS client is trying to reach GitLab through HTTPS. However, your GitLab instance is being served on HTTP. + +This behaviour is caused by Git LFS using HTTPS connections by default when a `lfsurl` is not set in the Git config. + +To prevent this from happening, set the lfs url in project Git config: + +```bash + +git config --add lfs.url "http://gitlab.example.com/group/project.git/info/lfs/objects/batch" +``` + +### Credentials are always required when pushing an object + +Given that Git LFS uses HTTP Basic Authentication to authenticate the user pushing the LFS object on every push for every object, user HTTPS credentials are required. + +By default, Git has support for remembering the credentials for each repository you use. This is described in [Git credentials man pages](https://git-scm.com/docs/gitcredentials). + +For example, you can tell Git to remember the password for a period of time in which you expect to push the objects: + +```bash +git config --global credential.helper 'cache --timeout=3600' +``` + +This will remember the credentials for an hour after which Git operations will require re-authentication. + +If you are using OS X you can use `osxkeychain` to store and encrypt your credentials. For Windows, you can use `wincred` or Microsoft's [Git Credential Manager for Windows](https://github.com/Microsoft/Git-Credential-Manager-for-Windows/releases). + +More details about various methods of storing the user credentials can be found on [Git Credential Storage documentation](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-Tools-Credential-Storage).
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