Git LFS on Heroku
Git LFS allows you to version large files while storing them outside of your Git repository. Heroku doesn’t have built-in support for it, so a few additional steps are needed to make it work. Keep in mind that Heroku’s maximum slug size is 500 MB compressed.
This tutorial assumes you’re already using Git LFS and are ready to deploy your app to Heroku.
Getting Started
We’ll use two buildpacks: one for SSH keys and another for Git LFS.
heroku buildpacks:add --index 1 https://github.com/heroku/heroku-buildpack-ssh-key.git
heroku buildpacks:add --index 2 https://github.com/raxod502/heroku-buildpack-git-lfs.git
Next, specify the location of the repo. Use the SSH url (not HTTPS).
heroku config:set HEROKU_BUILDPACK_GIT_LFS_REPO=git@github.com:user/repo.git
Authentication
GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket all support read-only access with SSH keys. Generate an SSH key pair:
ssh-keygen -f /tmp/heroku_rsa -N ""
Add the public key to your Git provider.
| Provider | From the repository page, go to... |
|---|---|
| GitHub | Settings > Deploy Keys |
| GitLab | Settings > Repository > Deploy Keys |
| Bitbucket | Repository settings > Access keys |
And copy and paste the output of:
cat /tmp/heroku_rsa.pub
Add the private key to your Heroku app.
heroku config:set BUILDPACK_SSH_KEY="$(cat /tmp/heroku_rsa)"
Deployment
Finally, use the --no-verify flag to deploy.
git push heroku master --no-verify
Otherwise, it’ll fail with:
batch response: Repository or object not found: https://git.heroku.com/app.git/info/lfs/objects/batch
Check that it exists and that you have proper access to it
Set up an alias to save some typing.
alias gpp="git push heroku master --no-verify"
We’ve now successfully deployed a repo with Git LFS to Heroku.