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Governance & Security

GitHub Large File Storage (LFS) governance standard

Summary

Git repositories are designed for source code and text-based artefacts.

The storage of large binary files directly within Git repositories can significantly impact

  • repository performance
  • clone and fetch times
  • continuous Integration performance
  • storage consumption
  • developer productivity

GitHub provides Git Large File Storage (Git LFS) specifically to manage large binary assets without increasing repository history unnecessarily.

This standard defines repository file-size controls and Git LFS requirements for Ministry of Justice GitHub organisations.

Objectives

This standard aims to

  • maintain repository performance
  • reduce repository bloat
  • improve CI/CD efficiency
  • standardise Git LFS adoption
  • prevent GitHub push failures
  • improve estate-wide governance

Scope

This standard applies to

  • all repositories within Ministry of Justice GitHub organisations
  • source code repositories
  • infrastructure repositories
  • template repositories
  • internal and external repositories

Repository size management

Repositories should contain

  • source code
  • configuration
  • documentation
  • small static assets

Repositories should not contain

  • large binary artefacts
  • backups
  • database exports
  • virtual machine images
  • ISO files
  • build artefacts
  • generated content

Alternative storage locations should be used where appropriate.

Large file thresholds

The following thresholds are mandatory

Soft limit (50 MB)

Files at or above 50 MB must be reviewed.

Repository owners must determine whether

  • Git LFS should be used
  • the file is necessary
  • an alternative storage solution is appropriate

Hard limit (100 MB)

Files at or above 100 MB must not be committed to repositories.

GitHub rejects files exceeding this threshold.

Any attempt to commit such files must be treated as non-compliant.

Mandatory requirements

Repository owners must

  • prevent unnecessary large files entering Git history
  • use Git LFS for approved large binary assets
  • maintain repository hygiene
  • remove obsolete assets whenever practical

Repositories must not use Git as a file-storage platform.

Git LFS usage

Git LFS must be used where

  • binary assets exceed 50 MB
  • assets require versioning
  • assets are retained within repository workflows

Common examples include

  • media files
  • machine-learning artefacts
  • GIS datasets
  • large test datasets
  • compiled package assets

A repository using Git LFS must include

  • appropriate .gitattributes configuration
  • contributor guidance
  • ownership responsibility for stored assets

Monitoring and enforcement

Estate scanning

An automated scan should be executed weekly to identify

  • files above 50 MB
  • repository growth trends
  • new policy violations

Reporting should include

  • repository name
  • file path
  • file size
  • recommended remediation

CI controls

Repositories should implement automated validation to

  • warn when files exceed 50 MB
  • prevent introduction of non-compliant assets

Pre-Push enforcement

Local tooling should prevent committing files exceeding approved thresholds.

Remediation requirements

Where a file exceeds policy thresholds, teams must choose one of the following

Option 1: Migrate to Git LFS

Move the asset into Git LFS management.

Option 2: Use alternative storage

Store the asset externally using an approved platform.

Option 3: Remove the asset

Delete unnecessary content.

Historical repository cleanup

Where repository history already contains significant large files, teams should

  • assess impact
  • consider repository cleanup
  • use approved tooling such as git-filter-repo where appropriate

History rewrites must be managed carefully due to downstream impact.

Ownership and accountability

Repository owners are accountable for

  • compliance with file-size policies
  • Git LFS management
  • asset lifecycle management
  • remediation of policy breaches

Repositories without ownership must be investigated and assigned.

Exceptions

Exceptions may be granted where

  • Git LFS is technically unsuitable
  • a platform dependency exists
  • business requirements prevent migration

All exceptions must

  • be documented
  • include a justification
  • include an owner
  • include a review date

Exceptions must be reviewed annually.

Governance and reporting

Repository file-size compliance should be reviewed regularly.

Monitoring should focus on

  • large-file trends
  • repeat offenders
  • repository growth
  • LFS adoption rates

Recent estate analysis of the most active repositories identified

  • strong compliance with GitHub file-size limits
  • very low rates of large-file policy breaches
  • no breaches of GitHub’s hard file-size limit

Ongoing monitoring should be maintained to preserve this compliance position and prevent repository degradation over time.

References

Last reviewed: 24 July 2026Review status: ✓ Up to dateOwner: Developer Experience team

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