How to fix Smudge error: Error downloading object: The requested URL returned error in Git

GitINTERMEDIATEMEDIUM

This error occurs when Git LFS fails to download large file objects during checkout or clone operations. Common causes include missing LFS objects on the server, authentication issues, or network problems.

What this error means

The "Smudge error: Error downloading object" in Git LFS indicates that the smudge filter failed to replace a pointer file with the actual large file content. Git LFS uses a "smudge" filter to convert pointer files (small text files that reference large objects) into the actual binary content when you checkout files. When you clone a repository or checkout a branch, Git LFS intercepts file reads and downloads the real content from the LFS server. If this download fails, you get a smudge error. The error message typically includes the specific URL that returned an error, which helps identify whether the problem is authentication, network connectivity, or a missing object. The underlying issue could be that the LFS object was never pushed to the server, your credentials are invalid or expired, the LFS server is down, or there's a network issue preventing the download. The object ID (SHA-256 hash) in the error message identifies which specific file failed to download.

How to fix "Smudge error: Error downloading object: The requested URL returned error"

1Skip smudge during clone and fetch separately

The most reliable fix is to skip the smudge filter during clone, then fetch LFS files separately:

bash

# Install LFS with smudge disabled
git lfs install --skip-smudge

# Clone the repository (pointer files only)
git clone <repository-url>
cd <repository-name>

# Fetch and checkout LFS files in batch
git lfs pull

# Re-enable smudge for future operations
git lfs install --force

This approach is faster for large repositories and handles network issues more gracefully since git lfs pull can retry failed downloads.

2Fix for existing repositories with smudge errors

If you already have the repository and encounter smudge errors during pull or checkout:

bash

# Temporarily disable smudge filter
git config --local filter.lfs.smudge "git-lfs smudge --skip -- %f"
git config --local filter.lfs.required false

# Pull changes (gets pointer files)
git pull --rebase --autostash

# Fetch all LFS objects
git lfs fetch --all

# Checkout LFS files
git lfs checkout

# Re-enable smudge filter
git config --local filter.lfs.smudge "git-lfs smudge -- %f"
git config --local filter.lfs.required true

This sequence ensures you get the Git history first, then download LFS files separately.

3Verify and fix LFS authentication

Authentication issues are a common cause. Check and update your credentials:

bash

# Test LFS server connectivity
git lfs env

# Check current LFS endpoint
git config --get lfs.url

# For GitHub, ensure you're authenticated
gh auth status

# For SSH-based repos, you may need HTTPS credentials for LFS
git config lfs.url https://github.com/<owner>/<repo>.git/info/lfs

For GitHub Personal Access Tokens:

bash

# Store credentials
git config --global credential.helper store
git lfs fetch  # Will prompt for username/token

For Bitbucket with token auth (common issue with duplicate Authorization headers):

bash

# Use SSH for Git but HTTPS for LFS
git config lfs.url https://bitbucket.org/<team>/<repo>.git/info/lfs

4Handle missing LFS objects (404 errors)

If you get 404 errors, the LFS object doesn't exist on the server. This requires access to a working copy:

bash

# Check which files are missing
git lfs ls-files --all | head -20

# If you have access to a working copy with the files, push them:
git lfs push --all origin

# For a specific file that's missing:
git lfs push origin --object-id <sha256-hash>

If you don't have the original files:

1. Check if another team member has a complete copy
2. Look for backups or previous clones
3. Consider reverting the commit that added the missing file
4. As a last resort, replace the file with a placeholder and document it

bash

# Find commits that modified the problematic file
git log --all --full-history -- <path-to-file>

5Configure network settings for unreliable connections

For slow or unreliable networks, adjust LFS transfer settings:

bash

# Reduce concurrent transfers (default is 8)
git config --global lfs.concurrenttransfers 3

# Increase retry attempts
git config --global lfs.transfer.maxretries 10

# Set longer timeouts
git config --global lfs.activitytimeout 60
git config --global lfs.tlstimeout 60

For corporate proxies:

bash

# Configure HTTP proxy for LFS
git config --global http.proxy http://proxy.company.com:8080
git config --global https.proxy http://proxy.company.com:8080

# Or for specific hosts only
git config --global http.https://lfs-server.com.proxy http://proxy.company.com:8080

To skip SSL verification (not recommended for production):

bash

git config --global http.sslVerify false

6Reset LFS configuration

If LFS is misconfigured, reset it completely:

bash

# Uninstall LFS hooks
git lfs uninstall

# Remove local LFS configuration
git config --local --remove-section filter.lfs 2>/dev/null || true
git config --local --remove-section lfs 2>/dev/null || true

# Reinstall LFS
git lfs install

# Verify configuration
git lfs env

Check that your .gitattributes file is correct:

bash

cat .gitattributes

You should see lines like:

bash

*.psd filter=lfs diff=lfs merge=lfs -text
*.zip filter=lfs diff=lfs merge=lfs -text

7Fetch from an alternative remote

If the primary LFS server is down, you might be able to fetch from a mirror or fork:

bash

# Add an alternative remote
git remote add upstream https://github.com/<original-owner>/<repo>.git

# Configure LFS to use the alternative remote
git config lfs.url https://github.com/<original-owner>/<repo>.git/info/lfs

# Fetch LFS objects from alternative
git lfs fetch upstream --all

# Reset LFS URL if needed
git config --unset lfs.url

For migrated repositories, you may need to configure the old server URL:

bash

git config lfs.url https://old-server.com/repo.git/info/lfs
git lfs fetch --all
git config lfs.url https://new-server.com/repo.git/info/lfs
git lfs push --all origin

8Check LFS object integrity

Verify that local LFS objects aren't corrupted:

bash

# List all LFS objects and their status
git lfs status

# Verify local LFS objects
git lfs fsck

# Prune old and unreferenced objects
git lfs prune --dry-run
git lfs prune

To see detailed information about a specific LFS pointer:

bash

# View pointer file contents
git lfs pointer --file <path-to-file>

# Check if object exists locally
ls -la .git/lfs/objects/<first-2-chars>/<next-2-chars>/

If objects are corrupted, delete them and re-fetch:

bash

rm -rf .git/lfs/objects
git lfs fetch --all

How to fix Smudge error: Error downloading object: The requested URL returned error in Git

What this error means

Typical symptoms

Common causes

How to fix "Smudge error: Error downloading object: The requested URL returned error"

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