How to fix batch response: This repository is over its data quota. Purchase more data packs to restore access. in Git

GitINTERMEDIATEMEDIUMUpdated Dec 6, 2025· 220 views

This error occurs when a Git repository exceeds its Git LFS storage or bandwidth quota on GitHub. The fix involves purchasing additional data packs, removing LFS tracking, or waiting for the monthly bandwidth reset.

Quick fix

Fixes batch response: This repository is over its data quota. Purchase more data packs to restore access.

GIT_LFS_SKIP_SMUDGE=1 git clone <repository-url>
  1. Check if you own the repository
  2. Clone without LFS files (temporary workaround)
  3. Wait for monthly bandwidth reset
  4. Download repository as ZIP archive
git — error
GIT_LFS_SKIP_SMUDGE=1 git clone <repository-url>
batch response: This repository is over its data quota. Purchase more data packs to restore access.

What this error means

Git Large File Storage (LFS) is an extension that replaces large files in your repository with text pointers while storing the actual file contents on a remote server. GitHub provides a limited amount of free LFS storage (1 GB for personal accounts, 250 GB for Team/Enterprise) and bandwidth per month. When you or anyone cloning your repository exceeds this quota, GitHub blocks LFS operations and returns this "over its data quota" error. The quota applies to both storage (total size of LFS objects) and bandwidth (total downloads per month). Importantly, both metrics count against the repository owner's account, not the person doing the clone or pull. This error commonly appears when working with repositories containing large binary files (game assets, machine learning models, media files), when popular repositories get cloned frequently, or when LFS-tracked files are modified repeatedly (each version counts as a new file in storage).

Typical symptoms

  • git clone fails with 'batch response: This repository is over its data quota'
  • git lfs pull returns quota exceeded error
  • git push fails when pushing new LFS objects
  • CI/CD pipelines fail when trying to fetch LFS files
  • Repository clones successfully but LFS files show as pointer files instead of actual content

Common causes

  1. Repository owner's free LFS bandwidth (1 GB/month) is exhausted from downloads
  2. Total LFS storage exceeds the free tier limit due to many large files or versions
  3. Popular repositories with many clones quickly exhaust bandwidth quotas
  4. Frequent modifications to LFS-tracked files create multiple versions, consuming storage
  5. Organization budget for Git LFS is set to $0, blocking any overage
  6. GitHub's metered billing is not enabled or payment method is not configured

How to fix "batch response: This repository is over its data quota. Purchase more data packs to restore access."

1Check if you own the repository

First, determine if you own the repository or if you're cloning someone else's:

- If you own it: You can fix this by purchasing data packs or removing LFS
- If you're cloning someone else's repo: You'll need to contact the repository owner or use a workaround

Check the repository's LFS usage in GitHub:
1. Go to the repository on GitHub
2. Click Settings > Archives (or check billing for your account)
3. View current storage and bandwidth usage

2Clone without LFS files (temporary workaround)

If you need the code but not the large files, skip LFS during clone:

bash
GIT_LFS_SKIP_SMUDGE=1 git clone <repository-url>

This downloads the repository with LFS pointer files instead of actual content. You can fetch specific LFS files later when quota resets:

bash
git lfs pull --include="path/to/specific/file.bin"
3Wait for monthly bandwidth reset

GitHub LFS bandwidth resets on the first of each month. If you're close to the reset date:

1. Wait until the new month begins
2. Clone or pull the repository immediately after reset
3. Consider downloading as a ZIP archive (see next step) to avoid using LFS bandwidth

Note: Storage quota does NOT reset monthly - only bandwidth does.

4Download repository as ZIP archive

If you're the repository owner, you can enable LFS in archives:

1. Go to your repository Settings
2. Scroll to Archives section
3. Check Include Git LFS objects in archives
4. Download the repository as a ZIP file

This allows you to get the files without consuming LFS bandwidth quota (though it may still count against storage).

5Purchase additional data packs (repository owner)

If you need to restore LFS access immediately:

1. Go to GitHub Settings > Billing and plans
2. Under Git LFS Data, click Add more data
3. Purchase a data pack ($5/month for 50 GB bandwidth + 50 GB storage)

For organizations using the new billing platform:
1. Go to Organization Settings > Billing > Budgets and alerts
2. Ensure LFS budget is not set to $0
3. Enable metered billing if prompted

6Remove LFS tracking and push without LFS

If you no longer want to use LFS, you can remove tracking and keep files in regular Git:

bash
# First, clone with LFS files (wait for quota reset if needed)
git clone <repository-url>
cd <repository>

# Uninstall LFS hooks from the repository
git lfs uninstall

# Remove LFS tracking from .gitattributes
# Edit .gitattributes and remove lines like: *.psd filter=lfs diff=lfs merge=lfs -text

# Untrack files from LFS (converts pointers to actual files)
git lfs untrack "*.psd"
git lfs untrack "*.zip"

# Add the actual files to regular Git
git add .
git commit -m "Remove LFS tracking, store files directly in Git"
git push

Warning: This increases repository size significantly. Only do this if your files are reasonably small (under 100 MB total).

7Migrate to a different LFS host

You can configure Git LFS to use a different server:

bash
# Check current LFS endpoint
git lfs env

# Configure a custom LFS server (e.g., self-hosted, AWS S3, etc.)
git config lfs.url "https://your-lfs-server.com/path"

Popular alternatives:
- Self-hosted: Set up your own LFS server with git-lfs-server
- GitLab: Offers 10 GB free LFS storage
- Bitbucket: Offers 1 GB free (10 GB with paid plans)
- AWS S3: Use with custom LFS implementation

8Contact repository owner (if not yours)

If you're trying to clone a repository you don't own:

1. Open an issue on the repository explaining the LFS quota problem
2. Ask the maintainer to:
 - Purchase additional data packs
 - Enable LFS in archives so you can download as ZIP
 - Provide an alternative download location for large files
 - Consider removing LFS if files aren't too large

Many open-source projects provide alternative download links for large assets (model files, datasets) to avoid LFS quota issues.

Advanced notes

### Understanding LFS Quota Calculation

Git LFS usage is calculated as follows:
- Storage: Total size of all unique LFS objects across all branches. Each version of a file counts separately.
- Bandwidth: Total bytes downloaded when fetching LFS objects. Uploads don't count against bandwidth.

Both storage and bandwidth count against the repository owner's account, even when forks or collaborators trigger the usage.

### GitHub Billing Changes (2024)

GitHub has moved to metered billing for LFS:
- Free tier: 1 GB storage + 1 GB bandwidth (personal), 250 GB each (Team/Enterprise)
- Overage pricing: $0.07/GB storage, $0.0875/GB bandwidth per month
- Legacy data packs: $5/month for 50 GB each (still available)

Organizations on the new billing platform may need to remove the $0 budget limit or explicitly enable overage billing.

### Preventing Future Quota Issues

1. Audit LFS usage regularly:

bash
git lfs ls-files -s

2. Use .lfsconfig to limit tracked patterns:

bash
git config -f .lfsconfig lfs.fetchexclude "huge-files/*"

3. Consider alternatives for very large files:
 - Host on cloud storage (S3, GCS) with download scripts
 - Use Git submodules pointing to separate repositories
 - Use DVC (Data Version Control) for ML/data projects

### Checking Your Quota

View your current LFS usage:

bash
# Via GitHub CLI
gh api user | jq '.disk_usage'

# Or check in GitHub web UI:
# Settings > Billing > Git LFS Data

Frequently asked questions

What does "batch response: This repository is over its data quota. Purchase more" mean?
Git Large File Storage (LFS) is an extension that replaces large files in your repository with text pointers while storing the actual file contents on a remote server. GitHub provides a limited amount of free LFS storage (1 GB for personal accounts, 250 GB for Team/Enterprise) and bandwidth per month. When you or anyone cloning your repository exceeds this quota, GitHub blocks LFS operations and returns this "over its data quota" error.
How do I fix "batch response: This repository is over its data quota. Purchase more"?
This error occurs when a Git repository exceeds its Git LFS storage or bandwidth quota on GitHub. The fix involves purchasing additional data packs, removing LFS tracking, or waiting for the monthly bandwidth reset.
What causes "batch response: This repository is over its data quota. Purchase more"?
Repository owner's free LFS bandwidth (1 GB/month) is exhausted from downloads Total LFS storage exceeds the free tier limit due to many large files or versions Popular repositories with many clones quickly exhaust bandwidth quotas
Is the "batch response: This repository is over its data quota. Purchase more" error serious?
It is a medium-severity error — more of a blocker than a risk. The steps above resolve it.

Official resources & further reading