git-sfs

SFS stands for Symbolic File Storage — like Git LFS, but instead of large file pointers it uses plain symlinks that Git already understands natively.

git-sfs keeps large files — datasets, model checkpoints, media archives — out of Git while Git tracks exactly where they belong.

Git tracks symlinks.
git-sfs stores file bytes.
rclone moves files.

No LFS server. No database. No pointer files. Git commits normal symlinks; the bytes live in a local content-addressed cache and sync to any rclone remote.

Use it when you want a repo that stays fast and cloneable, large files addressed by SHA-256 hash, a remote you can inspect with rclone ls, and CI that fails loudly when referenced files are missing.

Install

Install both git-sfs and rclone from PyPI:

uv tool install git-sfs

Or use the standalone installer:

curl -LsSf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Red-Eyed/git-sfs/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

If raw.githubusercontent.com is blocked (corporate proxy), use the release asset URL instead:

curl -LsSf https://github.com/Red-Eyed/git-sfs/releases/latest/download/install.sh | sh

Prebuilt binaries for macOS and Linux (arm64 and x86_64). Windows is not supported — git-sfs relies on symlinks, which require elevated privileges on Windows. Installs rclone too if not already on PATH. See docs/installation.md for proxy, CA bundle, and source-build options.

Build from source:

cargo install --path crates/git-sfs --locked

Quick start

Prerequisites: rclone installed and configured with at least one remote. See docs/remotes.md for setup instructions.

git-sfs init                    # create .git-sfs/config.toml
# edit config.toml: set remote backend, path, rclone config
git-sfs setup                   # bind local cache
git-sfs add data/               # hash files, replace with symlinks
git add .git-sfs/config.toml data/
git commit -m "track datasets"
git-sfs push                    # upload to remote

On another machine:

git clone <repo> && cd <repo>
git-sfs setup
git-sfs pull                    # download from remote

Files under data/ open normally through symlinks.

Documentation

• Concepts
• Installation
• Commands
• Configuration
• Remotes
• Workflows
• Safety
• Development