docs/content/github/managing-large-files/about-git-large-file-storage.md

title	intro	redirect_from	versions
About Git Large File Storage	{% data variables.large_files.product_name_short %} lets you push files to {% data variables.product.product_name %} that are larger than the Git push limit.	[/articles/about-large-file-storage/ /articles/about-git-large-file-storage]	[{free-pro-team *} {enterprise-server *} {github-ae *}]

{% data variables.large_files.product_name_short %} handles large files by storing references to the file in the repository, but not the actual file itself. To work around Git's architecture, {% data variables.large_files.product_name_short %} creates a pointer file which acts as a reference to the actual file (which is stored somewhere else). {% data variables.product.product_name %} manages this pointer file in your repository. When you clone the repository down, {% data variables.product.product_name %} uses the pointer file as a map to go and find the large file for you.

{% if currentVersion == "free-pro-team@latest" %} Using {% data variables.large_files.product_name_short %}, you can store files up to:

Product	Maximum file size
{% data variables.product.prodname_free_user %}	2 GB
{% data variables.product.prodname_pro %}	2 GB
{% data variables.product.prodname_team %}	4 GB
{% data variables.product.prodname_ghe_cloud %}	5 GB
Using {% data variables.large_files.product_name_short %}, you can store files up to {% if currentVersion ver_lt "enterprise-server@2.21" %}{% data variables.large_files.max_lfs_size %}{% else %}5 GB{% endif %} in your repository.
{% endif %}

You can also use {% data variables.large_files.product_name_short %} with {% data variables.product.prodname_desktop %}. For more information about cloning Git LFS repositories in {% data variables.product.prodname_desktop %}, see "Cloning a repository from GitHub to GitHub Desktop."

{% data reusables.large_files.can-include-lfs-objects-archives %}

Pointer file format

{% data variables.large_files.product_name_short %}'s pointer file looks like this:

version {% data variables.large_files.version_name %}
oid sha256:4cac19622fc3ada9c0fdeadb33f88f367b541f38b89102a3f1261ac81fd5bcb5
size 84977953

It tracks the version of {% data variables.large_files.product_name_short %} you're using, followed by a unique identifier for the file (oid). It also stores the size of the final file.

{% note %}

Notes:

• {% data variables.large_files.product_name_short %} cannot be used with {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} sites.
• {% data variables.large_files.product_name_short %} cannot be used with template repositories.

{% endnote %}

Further reading

• "Collaboration with {% data variables.large_files.product_name_long %}"