About billing for Git Large File Storage - GitHub Docs

Introduction

Git LFS (Large File Storage) is an extension for Git that helps manage large files more efficiently. In simple terms, Git LFS works by storing large files outside of your Git repository while keeping a lightweight reference to those files in your version control system.

Here's how it works:

Identifying large files: When you want to add large files (e.g., images, videos, binaries) to your Git repository, Git LFS recognizes them based on file size or file type, as specified in the configuration.
Replacing large files with pointers: Instead of storing the actual large files in the repository, Git LFS replaces them with small text pointers (metadata) containing information about the large files. These pointers take up much less space than the actual files.
LFS server: Git LFS requires a separate server to store the large files. Popular hosting services like GitHub and GitLab have built-in support for Git LFS, but you can also set up your own LFS server.
Storing large files externally: When you push your changes to the remote repository, Git LFS pushes the large files to the LFS server, where they are stored securely. This prevents your Git repository from becoming bloated with large binary files.
Cloning and fetching: When you or other team members clone the repository or fetch changes, Git LFS downloads the actual large files from the LFS server, and the pointers in your local repository get replaced with the correct files.
Seamless integration: Once the large files are retrieved from the LFS server, you can work with them as you would with any other files in your repository. The integration is transparent, and you won't notice the difference when working with large files.

By using Git LFS, you can avoid performance issues that may arise when dealing with large files in regular Git repositories. It also allows for better collaboration, as team members can work with large files without burdening the repository with unnecessary overhead.

Procedure

Sure! Let's walk through a step-by-step example of using Git LFS to track and manage a large file in a Git repository. For this example, we'll assume you already have Git LFS installed on your system.

Initialize a Git Repository: First, create a new directory and initialize it as a Git repository:
```
mkdir my_repository
cd my_repository
git init
```
Enable Git LFS: Set up Git LFS for the repository:
```
git lfs install
```
Track Large Files: We'll track a large file (e.g., a large image file) using Git LFS. Let's assume the file is named large_image.jpg. To track it with Git LFS, run the following command:
```
git lfs track "*.jpg"
```
This command tells Git LFS to track all files with the .jpg extension.
Create and Commit Large File: Place your large file (large_image.jpg) in the repository, then add and commit it:
```
git add large_image.jpg
git commit -m "Add large image file using Git LFS"
```
The large image file is now being managed by Git LFS.
Push to Remote Repository: If you're working with a remote repository (e.g., on GitHub), you'll want to push your changes to make them available to others:
```
git remote add origin <remote_repository_url>
git push -u origin master
```