#1004678 git-lfs: allow offline operation

Package:
git-lfs
Source:
git-lfs
Description:
Git Large File Support
Submitter:
"Barak A. Pearlmutter"
Date:
2022-02-20 17:21:03 UTC
Severity:
wishlist
#1004678#5
Date:
2022-01-31 15:50:31 UTC
From:
To:
I have a repo whose only remote is on a gitlab instance. I'm using
git-lfs to manage large binary files in this repo. The remote goes down.
Now "git add foo.pdf / git commit", when *.pdf files are tracked by lfs,
freezes! Waits forever for the remote when trying to transfer the big
blobs.

This violates what I consider a central concept of git, namely that
operations are local unless you explicitly fetch or push. It means you
cannot work with lfs while offline, like on an aeroplane, or even (as
above) when the gitlab instance is offline for maintenance.

There is also a potential security issue. Users might reasonably assume
they can safely do "git add/commit/rebase" operations locally, with
intermediate steps exposing secret information that is later removed
before doing a push. Nope!

Anyway: I *wish* git-lfs allowed remote operation, like git-annex does.
It seems like it should be technically possible to wait until an
lfs-tracked file (well, its https://git-lfs.github.com/spec/v1 smudge
stub) is actually pushed before transferring the associated big binary
blob. Or at the very least, giving up and remembering to try again later
if there's a big binary blob transfer problem.
#1004678#10
Date:
2022-02-20 04:36:45 UTC
From:
To:
 Thanks for reporting this. I agree that it sounds useful, though it might
be very challenging due to the decentralized nature of git-lfs. I’m happy
to keep this bug open, but it seems better served for the upstream tracker
at https://github.com/git-lfs/git-lfs/issues.

Stephen
#1004678#15
Date:
2022-02-20 04:36:45 UTC
From:
To:
 Thanks for reporting this. I agree that it sounds useful, though it might
be very challenging due to the decentralized nature of git-lfs. I’m happy
to keep this bug open, but it seems better served for the upstream tracker
at https://github.com/git-lfs/git-lfs/issues.

Stephen
#1004678#20
Date:
2022-02-20 09:29:31 UTC
From:
To:
I will file an issue upstream. But I don't expect them to care,
because github (the company) probably views this issue as a feature,
not a bug. This issue ties people to a single central repository and
makes migration nearly impossible, at least for non-wizards. Which is
basically their business model: come for the issue tracker and repo
sharing, stay because you have no choice, you can't leave, you can't
even commit without connecting.
#1004678#25
Date:
2022-02-20 09:29:31 UTC
From:
To:
I will file an issue upstream. But I don't expect them to care,
because github (the company) probably views this issue as a feature,
not a bug. This issue ties people to a single central repository and
makes migration nearly impossible, at least for non-wizards. Which is
basically their business model: come for the issue tracker and repo
sharing, stay because you have no choice, you can't leave, you can't
even commit without connecting.
#1004678#30
Date:
2022-02-20 17:16:28 UTC
From:
To:
Sorry, I realize I misspoke. I meant to say due to the _centralized_ nature
of git-lfs...
#1004678#35
Date:
2022-02-20 17:16:28 UTC
From:
To:
Sorry, I realize I misspoke. I meant to say due to the _centralized_ nature
of git-lfs...