LFS File Locking Not Supported

Symptom

Every Git LFS lock command fails:

Locking test.psd failed: Git LFS file locking is not supported on this server

Error while retrieving locks: Git LFS file locking is not supported on this server

unable to get lock ID: Git LFS file locking is not supported on this server

The first comes from git lfs lock, the second from git lfs locks, the third from git lfs unlock.

Cause

git.eu does not support Git LFS file locking yet: the server answers every lock request with HTTP 501 (Not Implemented). Storing, pushing and downloading LFS files work as usual.

Diagnose

Check whether a .gitattributes rule marks files as lockable (lockable files are read-only on disk until locked):

git check-attr lockable -- test.psd

test.psd: lockable: set means the rule is there; unspecified means it is not.

Fix

Option A - Remove the lockable flag (recommended)

Make the files writable again and commit the changed .gitattributes:

git lfs track --not-lockable "*.psd"
git add .gitattributes
git commit -m "Remove the lockable flag from PSD files"
git push

Option B - Coordinate edits outside git

Agree in your team on who edits which binary file, since no lock can do it for you.

Verify

git check-attr lockable -- test.psd

It prints test.psd: lockable: unspecified.

Prevent

• Do not add lockable to .gitattributes rules for a git.eu repository.

Related

• Git LFS guide
• Knowledge Base - Git LFS