--- disqus_identifier: 'https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/workflow/lfs/lfs_administration.html' --- # GitLab Git Large File Storage (LFS) Administration Documentation on how to use Git LFS are under [Managing large binary files with Git LFS doc](../../topics/git/lfs/index.md). ## Requirements - Git LFS is supported in GitLab starting with version 8.2. - Support for object storage, such as AWS S3, was introduced in 10.0. - Users need to install [Git LFS client](https://git-lfs.github.com) version 1.0.1 and up. ## Configuration Git LFS objects can be large in size. By default, they are stored on the server GitLab is installed on. There are various configuration options to help GitLab server administrators: - Enabling/disabling Git LFS support - Changing the location of LFS object storage - Setting up object storage supported by [Fog](http://fog.io/about/provider_documentation.html) ### Configuration for Omnibus installations In `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb`: ```ruby # Change to true to enable lfs - enabled by default if not defined gitlab_rails['lfs_enabled'] = false # Optionally, change the storage path location. Defaults to # `#{gitlab_rails['shared_path']}/lfs-objects`. Which evaluates to # `/var/opt/gitlab/gitlab-rails/shared/lfs-objects` by default. gitlab_rails['lfs_storage_path'] = "/mnt/storage/lfs-objects" ``` ### Configuration for installations from source In `config/gitlab.yml`: ```yaml # Change to true to enable lfs lfs: enabled: false storage_path: /mnt/storage/lfs-objects ``` ## Storing LFS objects in remote object storage > [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/merge_requests/2760) in [GitLab Premium](https://about.gitlab.com/pricing/) 10.0. Brought to GitLab Core in 10.7. It is possible to store LFS objects in remote object storage which allows you to offload local hard disk R/W operations, and free up disk space significantly. GitLab is tightly integrated with `Fog`, so you can refer to its [documentation](http://fog.io/about/provider_documentation.html) to check which storage services can be integrated with GitLab. You can also use external object storage in a private local network. For example, [MinIO](https://min.io/) is a standalone object storage service, is easy to set up, and works well with GitLab instances. GitLab provides two different options for the uploading mechanism: "Direct upload" and "Background upload". [Read more about using object storage with GitLab](../object_storage.md). **Option 1. Direct upload** 1. User pushes an `lfs` file to the GitLab instance 1. GitLab-workhorse uploads the file directly to the external object storage 1. GitLab-workhorse notifies GitLab-rails that the upload process is complete **Option 2. Background upload** 1. User pushes an `lfs` file to the GitLab instance 1. GitLab-rails stores the file in the local file storage 1. GitLab-rails then uploads the file to the external object storage asynchronously The following general settings are supported. | Setting | Description | Default | |---------|-------------|---------| | `enabled` | Enable/disable object storage | `false` | | `remote_directory` | The bucket name where LFS objects will be stored| | | `direct_upload` | Set to true to enable direct upload of LFS without the need of local shared storage. Option may be removed once we decide to support only single storage for all files. | `false` | | `background_upload` | Set to false to disable automatic upload. Option may be removed once upload is direct to S3 | `true` | | `proxy_download` | Set to true to enable proxying all files served. Option allows to reduce egress traffic as this allows clients to download directly from remote storage instead of proxying all data | `false` | | `connection` | Various connection options described below | | The `connection` settings match those provided by [Fog](https://github.com/fog). Here is a configuration example with S3. | Setting | Description | example | |---------|-------------|---------| | `provider` | The provider name | AWS | | `aws_access_key_id` | AWS credentials, or compatible | `ABC123DEF456` | | `aws_secret_access_key` | AWS credentials, or compatible | `ABC123DEF456ABC123DEF456ABC123DEF456` | | `aws_signature_version` | AWS signature version to use. 2 or 4 are valid options. Digital Ocean Spaces and other providers may need 2. | 4 | | `enable_signature_v4_streaming` | Set to true to enable HTTP chunked transfers with [AWS v4 signatures](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/API/sigv4-streaming.html). Oracle Cloud S3 needs this to be false | true | | `region` | AWS region | us-east-1 | | `host` | S3 compatible host for when not using AWS, e.g. `localhost` or `storage.example.com` | s3.amazonaws.com | | `endpoint` | Can be used when configuring an S3 compatible service such as [MinIO](https://min.io), by entering a URL such as `http://127.0.0.1:9000` | (optional) | | `path_style` | Set to true to use `host/bucket_name/object` style paths instead of `bucket_name.host/object`. Leave as false for AWS S3 | false | | `use_iam_profile` | Set to true to use IAM profile instead of access keys | false Here is a configuration example with GCS. | Setting | Description | example | |---------|-------------|---------| | `provider` | The provider name | `Google` | | `google_project` | GCP project name | `gcp-project-12345` | | `google_client_email` | The email address of the service account | `foo@gcp-project-12345.iam.gserviceaccount.com` | | `google_json_key_location` | The JSON key path | `/path/to/gcp-project-12345-abcde.json` | NOTE: **Note:** The service account must have permission to access the bucket. [See more](https://cloud.google.com/storage/docs/authentication) Here is a configuration example with Rackspace Cloud Files. | Setting | Description | example | |---------|-------------|---------| | `provider` | The provider name | `Rackspace` | | `rackspace_username` | The username of the Rackspace account with access to the container | `joe.smith` | | `rackspace_api_key` | The API key of the Rackspace account with access to the container | `ABC123DEF456ABC123DEF456ABC123DE` | | `rackspace_region` | The Rackspace storage region to use, a three letter code from the [list of service access endpoints](https://developer.rackspace.com/docs/cloud-files/v1/general-api-info/service-access/) | `iad` | | `rackspace_temp_url_key` | The private key you have set in the Rackspace API for temporary URLs. Read more [here](https://developer.rackspace.com/docs/cloud-files/v1/use-cases/public-access-to-your-cloud-files-account/#tempurl) | `ABC123DEF456ABC123DEF456ABC123DE` | NOTE: **Note:** Regardless of whether the container has public access enabled or disabled, Fog will use the TempURL method to grant access to LFS objects. If you see errors in logs referencing instantiating storage with a `temp-url-key`, ensure that you have set the key properly on the Rackspace API and in `gitlab.rb`. You can verify the value of the key Rackspace has set by sending a GET request with token header to the service access endpoint URL and comparing the output of the returned headers. ### Manual uploading to an object storage There are two ways to manually do the same thing as automatic uploading (described above). **Option 1: Rake task** ```shell gitlab-rake gitlab:lfs:migrate ``` **Option 2: Rails console** Log into the Rails console: ```shell sudo gitlab-rails console ``` Upload LFS files manually ```ruby LfsObject.where(file_store: [nil, 1]).find_each do |lfs_object| lfs_object.file.migrate!(ObjectStorage::Store::REMOTE) if lfs_object.file.file.exists? end ``` ### S3 for Omnibus installations On Omnibus installations, the settings are prefixed by `lfs_object_store_`: 1. Edit `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb` and add the following lines by replacing with the values you want: ```ruby gitlab_rails['lfs_object_store_enabled'] = true gitlab_rails['lfs_object_store_remote_directory'] = "lfs-objects" gitlab_rails['lfs_object_store_connection'] = { 'provider' => 'AWS', 'region' => 'eu-central-1', 'aws_access_key_id' => '1ABCD2EFGHI34JKLM567N', 'aws_secret_access_key' => 'abcdefhijklmnopQRSTUVwxyz0123456789ABCDE', # The below options configure an S3 compatible host instead of AWS 'host' => 'localhost', 'endpoint' => 'http://127.0.0.1:9000', 'path_style' => true } ``` 1. Save the file and [reconfigure GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#omnibus-gitlab-reconfigure) for the changes to take effect. 1. Migrate any existing local LFS objects to the object storage: ```shell gitlab-rake gitlab:lfs:migrate ``` This will migrate existing LFS objects to object storage. New LFS objects will be forwarded to object storage unless `gitlab_rails['lfs_object_store_background_upload']` is set to false. ### S3 for installations from source For source installations the settings are nested under `lfs:` and then `object_store:`: 1. Edit `/home/git/gitlab/config/gitlab.yml` and add or amend the following lines: ```yaml lfs: enabled: true object_store: enabled: false remote_directory: lfs-objects # Bucket name connection: provider: AWS aws_access_key_id: 1ABCD2EFGHI34JKLM567N aws_secret_access_key: abcdefhijklmnopQRSTUVwxyz0123456789ABCDE region: eu-central-1 # Use the following options to configure an AWS compatible host such as Minio host: 'localhost' endpoint: 'http://127.0.0.1:9000' path_style: true ``` 1. Save the file and [restart GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#installations-from-source) for the changes to take effect. 1. Migrate any existing local LFS objects to the object storage: ```shell sudo -u git -H bundle exec rake gitlab:lfs:migrate RAILS_ENV=production ``` This will migrate existing LFS objects to object storage. New LFS objects will be forwarded to object storage unless `background_upload` is set to false. ### Migrating back to local storage In order to migrate back to local storage: 1. Set both `direct_upload` and `background_upload` to false under the LFS object storage settings. Don't forget to restart GitLab. 1. Run `rake gitlab:lfs:migrate_to_local` on your console. 1. Disable `object_storage` for LFS objects in `gitlab.rb`. Remember to restart GitLab afterwards. ## Storage statistics You can see the total storage used for LFS objects on groups and projects in the administration area, as well as through the [groups](../../api/groups.md) and [projects APIs](../../api/projects.md). ## Troubleshooting: `Google::Apis::TransmissionError: execution expired` If LFS integration is configured with Google Cloud Storage and background uploads (`background_upload: true` and `direct_upload: false`), Sidekiq workers may encounter this error. This is because the uploading timed out with very large files. LFS files up to 6Gb can be uploaded without any extra steps, otherwise you need to use the following workaround. Log into Rails console: ```shell sudo gitlab-rails console ``` Set up timeouts: - These settings are only in effect for the same session. For example, they are not effective for Sidekiq workers. - 20 minutes (1200 sec) is enough to upload 30GB LFS files: ```ruby ::Google::Apis::ClientOptions.default.open_timeout_sec = 1200 ::Google::Apis::ClientOptions.default.read_timeout_sec = 1200 ::Google::Apis::ClientOptions.default.send_timeout_sec = 1200 ``` Upload LFS files manually (this process does not use Sidekiq at all): ```ruby LfsObject.where(file_store: [nil, 1]).find_each do |lfs_object| lfs_object.file.migrate!(ObjectStorage::Store::REMOTE) if lfs_object.file.file.exists? end ``` See more information in [!19581](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/-/merge_requests/19581) ## Known limitations - Support for removing unreferenced LFS objects was added in 8.14 onward. - LFS authentications via SSH was added with GitLab 8.12. - Only compatible with the Git LFS client versions 1.1.0 and up, or 1.0.2. - The storage statistics currently count each LFS object multiple times for every project linking to it.