TortoiseGit LFS pointer file display without native LFS client installed

Answer

When the Git for Windows installation that TortoiseGit uses does not include the git-lfs binary, TortoiseGit has no mechanism to detect or warn about LFS‑tracked files. The repository will contain the usual LFS pointer files (text that looks like version https://git-lfs.github.com/spec/v1 oid sha256:… size …), and these appear in the log, diff, and commit dialogs exactly as ordinary text. No UI marker, color change, or alert is shown, so you must manually inspect the file to tell it is a pointer.

Why This Happens

• TortoiseGit delegates all LFS work to the underlying Git for Windows binary. If that binary lacks the git-lfs executable, the client simply treats the file as a normal text file.
• There is no built‑in size or format threshold in TortoiseGit that triggers special handling; the viewer always displays the raw file contents.
• Because the detection logic is absent, the tool cannot show a “missing LFS support” banner or icon.

What You Can Do

1. Verify whether Git LFS is installed by running:

   git lfs version
   

   in a command prompt. If the command is not found, LFS is missing.

2. Check TortoiseGit’s settings: Repository → Settings → Git → LFS. The “Path to git‑lfs” field should be empty or point to a non‑existent executable if LFS is absent.

3. Install the LFS client:

   git lfs install
   

   After installation, run git lfs pull to fetch the large objects.

4. Re‑open the log or diff viewer. The previously shown pointer should now be replaced by the actual binary data (or an appropriate binary indicator) and the viewer will treat it as a regular file.

Missing Diagnostic Detail

If you’re still seeing pointer files after installing Git LFS, let us know the exact git --version output and whether the git-lfs binary path is correctly set in TortoiseGit’s settings. That information will help determine whether the tool is pointing to the right Git executable.