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

GitBEGINNERMEDIUMUpdated Dec 6, 2025· 214 views

This error occurs when Git tries to use Git LFS (Large File Storage) but the git-lfs command is not installed or not in your PATH. Install Git LFS and run 'git lfs install' to resolve it.

Quick fix

Fixes git-lfs filter-process: git-lfs: command not found

brew install git-lfs
  1. Install Git LFS on your system
  2. Initialize Git LFS for your user account
  3. Pull the LFS files for your repository
  4. Link git-lfs to Git's exec path (macOS/Linux)
git — error
brew install git-lfs
git-lfs filter-process: git-lfs: command not found

What this error means

Git LFS (Large File Storage) is an extension that replaces large files like audio, video, datasets, and graphics with text pointers inside Git, while storing the actual file contents on a remote server. When you clone or pull from a repository that uses Git LFS, Git needs to invoke the `git-lfs` command to download the actual file contents. The "git-lfs filter-process: git-lfs: command not found" error occurs when Git cannot find the `git-lfs` executable. This typically happens because: 1. Git LFS is not installed on your system 2. Git LFS is installed but not in your system's PATH 3. Your IDE or Git GUI is using a different Git installation that doesn't have access to Git LFS This error commonly appears when cloning repositories from GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket that use Git LFS to store large binary files. The clone operation may partially succeed, but the LFS-tracked files will contain pointer text instead of actual content.

Typical symptoms

  • Clone operations fail or complete with warnings about git-lfs
  • Large files in the repository contain text pointers instead of actual content
  • Pull or checkout operations fail with filter-process errors
  • IDEs like VS Code, Visual Studio, or JetBrains show git-lfs errors in the terminal
  • CI/CD pipelines fail when checking out repositories that use Git LFS

Common causes

  1. Git LFS is not installed on your system (most common)
  2. Git LFS is installed but 'git lfs install' was never run to configure Git
  3. On macOS, Homebrew-installed git-lfs is not visible to Xcode's bundled Git
  4. On Windows, the Git LFS path is not in the system PATH or is truncated
  5. Your IDE or Git GUI is using an embedded Git that doesn't include Git LFS
  6. Git and Git LFS were installed from different package managers with conflicting paths

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

1Install Git LFS on your system

First, install Git LFS using your package manager:

macOS (using Homebrew):

bash
brew install git-lfs

macOS (using MacPorts):

bash
port install git-lfs

Ubuntu/Debian (20.04+):

bash
sudo apt install git-lfs

Fedora/RHEL:

bash
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.

2Initialize Git LFS for your user account

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

bash
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:

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

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

3Pull the LFS files for your repository

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:

bash
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.

4Link git-lfs to Git's exec path (macOS/Linux)

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

bash
# 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:

bash
git lfs version
5Fix PATH issues on Windows

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:

powershell
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.

6Configure your IDE to use the correct Git

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:

json
"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.

7Use full paths in Git config (alternative fix)

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

bash
# 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.

8Verify the fix

Confirm Git LFS is working correctly:

bash
# 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:

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

Advanced notes

### Skip LFS During Clone (Workaround)

If you need to clone a repository quickly without downloading large LFS files, you can skip the smudge filter:

bash
git lfs install --skip-smudge
git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git
cd repo
git lfs pull  # Download LFS files later when needed
git lfs install --force  # Re-enable smudge filter

### Installing Git LFS in CI/CD Pipelines

Most CI/CD platforms have Git LFS available but may not have it enabled by default:

GitHub Actions:

yaml
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
  with:
    lfs: true

GitLab CI:

yaml
variables:
  GIT_LFS_SKIP_SMUDGE: "0"

Bitbucket Pipelines:
Git LFS is pre-installed on Bitbucket Pipelines images.

### Homebrew Git + Git LFS on macOS

For the most reliable setup on macOS, install both Git and Git LFS from Homebrew:

bash
brew install git git-lfs
git lfs install

This ensures both tools use the same paths and work together seamlessly.

### Repository-Specific LFS Installation

To enable Git LFS only for a specific repository (not globally):

bash
cd your-repository
git lfs install --local

This adds the LFS configuration to .git/config instead of ~/.gitconfig.

Frequently asked questions

What does "git-lfs filter-process: git-lfs: command not found" mean?
Git LFS (Large File Storage) is an extension that replaces large files like audio, video, datasets, and graphics with text pointers inside Git, while storing the actual file contents on a remote server. When you clone or pull from a repository that uses Git LFS, Git needs to invoke the git-lfs command to download the actual file contents. The "git-lfs filter-process: git-lfs: command not found" error occurs when Git cannot find the git-lfs executable.
How do I fix "git-lfs filter-process: git-lfs: command not found"?
This error occurs when Git tries to use Git LFS (Large File Storage) but the git-lfs command is not installed or not in your PATH. Install Git LFS and run 'git lfs install' to resolve it.
What causes "git-lfs filter-process: git-lfs: command not found"?
Git LFS is not installed on your system (most common) Git LFS is installed but 'git lfs install' was never run to configure Git On macOS, Homebrew-installed git-lfs is not visible to Xcode's bundled Git
Is the "git-lfs filter-process: git-lfs: command not found" error serious?
It is a medium-severity error — more of a blocker than a risk. The steps above resolve it.

Official resources & further reading