---
name: "git-lfs-clone"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "git-lfs"
version: "3.8.1-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/git-lfs-clone"
---

# git-lfs-clone(1)

Efficiently clone a LFS-enabled repository

## NAME

git-lfs-clone - Efficiently clone a LFS-enabled repository

## SYNOPSIS

```
git lfs clone [git clone options] <repository> [<directory>]
```

## DESCRIPTION

Clone an LFS enabled Git repository more efficiently by disabling LFS during the git clone, then performing a 'git lfs pull' directly afterwards.

'git lfs clone' also installs all of the repo-level hooks (.git/hooks) that LFS requires to operate. If `--separate-git-dir` is given, the hooks will be installed there.

This is faster than a regular 'git clone' because that will download LFS content using the smudge filter, which is executed individually per file in the working copy. This is relatively inefficient compared to the batch mode and parallel downloads performed by 'git lfs pull'.

## OPTIONS

All options supported by 'git clone'

- `-I <paths>`, `--include=<paths>`

  See INCLUDE AND EXCLUDE.

- `-X <paths>`, `--exclude=<paths>`

  See INCLUDE AND EXCLUDE.

- `--skip-repo`

  Skip installing repo-level hooks (.git/hooks) that LFS requires. Disabled by default.

## INCLUDE AND EXCLUDE

You can configure Git LFS to only fetch objects to satisfy references in certain paths of the repo, and/or to exclude certain paths of the repo, to reduce the time you spend downloading things you do not use.

In your Git configuration or in a `.lfsconfig` file, you may set either or both of `lfs.fetchinclude` and `lfs.fetchexclude` to comma-separated lists of paths. If `lfs.fetchinclude` is defined, Git LFS objects will only be fetched if their path matches one in that list, and if `lfs.fetchexclude` is defined, Git LFS objects will only be fetched if their path does not match one in that list. Paths are matched using wildcard matching as per [gitignore(5)](/gitignore/5.md).

Note that using the command-line options `-I` and `-X` override the respective configuration settings. Setting either option to an empty string clears the value.

## SEE ALSO

[git-clone(1)](/git-clone/1.md), [git-lfs-pull(1)](/git-lfs-pull/1.md), [gitignore(5)](/gitignore/5.md).

Part of the [git-lfs(1)](/git-lfs/1.md) suite.