How to fix git-lfs filter-process: git-lfs: command not found in Git

First, install Git LFS using your package manager:

macOS (using Homebrew):

brew install git-lfs

macOS (using MacPorts):

port install git-lfs

Ubuntu/Debian (20.04+):

sudo apt install git-lfs

Fedora/RHEL:

sudo dnf install git-lfs

Windows:
Download and run the installer from https://git-lfs.com, or reinstall Git for Windows and check the "Git LFS" option in the installer.

After installing, you must configure Git to use LFS. Run this command once per user account:

git lfs install

This adds the necessary LFS filter configuration to your ~/.gitconfig file. You only need to run this once, not per repository.

To verify the configuration was applied:

git config --global --get filter.lfs.process

This should output something like: git-lfs filter-process

If you already cloned a repository before installing Git LFS, the LFS-tracked files will contain pointers instead of actual content. Fetch the actual files with:

git lfs pull

This downloads all LFS-tracked files from the remote server and replaces the pointers with actual content.

For repositories with many large files, this may take some time depending on your connection speed.

If Git LFS is installed but Git still can't find it, create a symbolic link:

# Find where git-lfs is installed
which git-lfs

# Create a link in Git's exec path
sudo ln -s "$(which git-lfs)" "$(git --exec-path)/git-lfs"

This is particularly common on macOS when using Xcode's bundled Git with Homebrew-installed Git LFS.

Verify the link works:

git lfs version

On Windows, the Git LFS executable path may not be in your system PATH, or may be truncated if your PATH is very long.

Check if git-lfs is in PATH:

where git-lfs

If not found, add it manually:
1. Open System Properties > Advanced > Environment Variables
2. Find the PATH variable in User or System variables
3. Add C:\Program Files\Git LFS to the beginning of the PATH
4. Click OK and restart your terminal or IDE

Alternatively, reinstall Git for Windows:
Run the installer and ensure "Git LFS (Large File Support)" is checked in the "Select Components" step.

If the error only occurs in your IDE but works in the terminal, your IDE may be using an embedded Git without LFS support.

VS Code:
Open Settings (Ctrl+,) and search for "git.path". Set it to your system Git:

"git.path": "/usr/local/bin/git"

SourceTree:
Go to Tools > Options > Git and change from "Embedded" to "System" Git version.

JetBrains IDEs (IntelliJ, WebStorm, etc.):
Go to Settings > Version Control > Git and set the "Path to Git executable" to your system Git installation.

If Git still can't find git-lfs, configure it to use the full path:

# Find the full path to git-lfs
which git-lfs
# Example output: /usr/local/bin/git-lfs

# Configure Git to use the full path
git config --global filter.lfs.clean "/usr/local/bin/git-lfs clean -- %f"
git config --global filter.lfs.smudge "/usr/local/bin/git-lfs smudge -- %f"
git config --global filter.lfs.process "/usr/local/bin/git-lfs filter-process"
git config --global filter.lfs.required true

Replace /usr/local/bin/git-lfs with the actual path from the which command.

Confirm Git LFS is working correctly:

# Check Git LFS version
git lfs version

# Check Git LFS status in your repository
cd your-repository
git lfs status

# List LFS-tracked files
git lfs ls-files

If all commands work without errors, try cloning a fresh copy of your repository to confirm the fix:

git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git test-clone
cd test-clone
git lfs pull