The Differences Between git lfs fetch, git lfs fetch –all, and git lfs pull

1. Introduction

Git LFS or Large File Storage is a Git extension that allows users to handle large files more efficiently by storing them outside the main Git repository. While Git LFS is beneficial for managing large files, its commands can often be confusing.

In this tutorial, we’ll explore the differences between git lfs fetch, git lfs fetch –all, and git lfs pull. First, we’ll take a detailed look at Git LFS. After that, we’ll discuss each Git LFS command. Lastly, we’ll look at the differences between these commands.

2. Git LFS

Before we discuss the commands, let’s first understand what Git LFS is and how it works.

Git LFS is a tool that helps us manage large files more easily. Normally, Git isn’t built for handling big files like videos or large datasets. If we add these files directly to the repository, it can slow everything down because Git stores every version of every file. This makes the repository size grow fast.

Instead of storing large files directly in our repository, Git LFS replaces them with small text pointers. These pointers act like placeholders, while large files are stored on a remote server. As a result, our repository stays small, making it quicker to clone and fetch files.

2.1. Example

Let’s say we’re working on a project that includes a 500MB dataset called data.csv. Without Git LFS, if we add this file, Git would track every dataset version, which could cause performance issues. But with Git LFS, when we add data.csv, Git stores only a small pointer file in our repository, and the actual 500MB file stays on a remote server. This keeps our repository lightweight and makes cloning faster.

2.2. Overview of the git lfs Commands

Let’s look at each command briefly:

• git lfs fetch downloads Git LFS files for the currently checked-out branch or commit into the .git/lfs directory but doesn’t update the working directory
• git lfs fetch –all downloads all Git LFS files for all branches and commits into the .git/lfs directory
• git lfs checkout updates the working directory with the files downloaded by git lfs fetch
• git lfs pull combines git lfs fetch and git lfs checkout

In summary, these git lfs commands help manage large files more efficiently by fetching and pulling them as needed.

3. The git lfs fetch Command

The git lfs fetch command is used to download Git LFS files related to the currently checked-out branch or commit from the remote repository to our local repository. It stores the files in the .git/lfs directory but not in our working directory. This is useful when we want to make sure the LFS files are available locally without changing our current working files.

Let’s say we’re working on the main branch of our repository and want to fetch the LFS files. We can run the following command:

$ git lfs fetch

This command downloads the LFS files only for the main branch. If we check the .git/lfs directory, we’ll see the files stored there, but our working directory stays the same.

Now, if we want to fetch LFS files for specific branches, we can specify them:

$ git lfs fetch origin main feature-branch bugfix-branch

In this case, the command fetches the LFS files for the main, feature-branch, and bugfix-branch from the origin remote. It’s helpful when we have to prepare multiple branches without switching between them.

4. The git lfs fetch –all Command

The git lfs fetch –all command is more comprehensive. It fetches all LFS files for every branch and commits from the remote repository. This is especially useful when we need all the files locally, like for a backup or migration process.

Let’s say we want to fetch all LFS files:

$ git lfs fetch --all

This command downloads all LFS objects for every commit across all branches and stores them in the .git/lfs directory.

Since it fetches everything, this can mean downloading a large amount of data, especially in big repositories. So, it’s important to use this command wisely when we need all the files locally.

5. The git lfs pull Command

The git lfs pull command combines the actions of git lfs fetch and git lfs checkout. It fetches the LFS files for the currently checked-out branch and then updates the working directory with those files. This means it downloads the files and immediately replaces the placeholders with the file content in our working directory.

Let’s say we want to fetch and update our working directory for the main branch:

$ git lfs pull

This command first downloads the LFS files to the .git/lfs directory. After that, it checks them into our working directory, replacing any placeholders with the actual file content.

It’s useful when we want to make sure we have the latest LFS files and are ready to work with them right away.

6. Differences Between the Commands

Let’s look at the differences between the git lfs commands.

When switching between branches, we can use git lfs fetch to get the LFS files for the branch we just checked out. For example, after running git checkout feature-branch, using git lfs fetch downloads the files for that branch. However, they won’t be checked out into the working directory right away. This helps when we want to save disk space and don’t need the files immediately.

On the other hand, if we’re archiving a repository or making a full backup, we should use git lfs fetch –all. This command downloads all LFS objects from every branch into the .git/lfs directory. That way, we can store or move the repository with all its large files and history.

Finally, if we need the files in our working directory, such as when setting up on a new machine, we can run git lfs pull. After cloning the repository, this command ensures all LFS files are ready to use.

7. Conclusion

In this article, we discussed the differences between the git lfs fetch, git lfs fetch –all, and git lfs pull commands.

Understanding the differences between these commands is crucial for effectively managing large files in Git repositories. In summary, we use git lfs fetch when we need specific files without affecting the working directory, git lfs fetch –all for complete backups or migrations, and git lfs pull for a complete update of our working environment.