Clean Up Unreferenced Files from a Git LFS Repository

Use this command to clean up a Git LFS repository. This command deletes all files from a Git LFS repository in Artifactory that are no longer referenced in a corresponding Git repository.

To clean up unreferenced Git LFS objects in Artifactory:

Complete the prerequisites in Before You Begin.
Run jf rt git-lfs-clean (or jf rt glc) starting with --dry-run and --repo where appropriate, then run without --dry-run when you are ready to delete (see Cleaning Up Unreferenced Files Examples).

Before You Begin

Ensure the following prerequisites are met before running this command:

JFrog CLI configured — Run jf config add to add your Artifactory server if you have not done so already.
Git LFS installed — Install from git-lfs.com and run git lfs install in your repository.
Artifactory LFS URL configured in your Git repository — The CLI attempts to auto-detect the Artifactory LFS repository from your local Git config. For auto-detection to work, your repository must have one of the following set:

Option A — .lfsconfig file (recommended): Create a .lfsconfig file in your repository root:
```
[lfs]
    url = https://<your-server>/artifactory/<your-lfs-repo>
```
Option B — .git/config: Set the lfs.url key in your local Git config:
```
git config lfs.url https://<your-server>/artifactory/<your-lfs-repo>
```
If neither is configured, pass --repo=<repo-name> explicitly on every command invocation.

Commands Params

Parameter	Command / Description
Command name	`rt git-lfs-clean`
Abbreviation	`rt glc`
Command options:
`--server-id`	[Optional] Server ID configured using the `jf config` command. If not specified, the default configured server is used.
`--refs`	[Default: `refs/remotes/`] List of comma-separated Git references in the form of `"ref1,ref2,..."` which should be preserved. Important:* When using wildcard patterns (for example, `refs/remotes/`), quote the entire value to prevent shell glob expansion: `--refs='HEAD,refs/remotes/'`
`--repo`	[Required unless Artifactory LFS URL is pre-configured in the Git repository] Name of the Git LFS repository in Artifactory to clean. If omitted, the CLI attempts to detect the repository from `.lfsconfig` or the `lfs.url` key in `.git/config`. If neither is configured, this flag is required — the command will fail with a detection error. See Before You Begin for setup instructions.
`--quiet`	[Default: `false`; defaults to `true` when the `$CI` environment variable is set] Set to `true` to skip the delete confirmation message. When running in a CI environment (where the `CI` environment variable is set), this defaults to `true`.
`--dry-run`	[Default: `false`] If `true`, cleanup is only simulated. No files are actually deleted.
`--insecure-tls`	[Default: `false`] Set to `true` to skip TLS certificates verification.
`--retries`	[Default: `3`] Number of HTTP retries.
`--retry-wait-time`	[Default: `0`] Number of seconds or milliseconds to wait between retries. The numeric value should either end with `s` for seconds or `ms` for milliseconds (for example, `10s` or `100ms`).
Authentication flags:	This command also accepts per-invocation authentication flags: `--url`, `--user`, `--password`, `--access-token`, `--ssh-key-path`, `--ssh-passphrase`. These override the configured server credentials for this command only. See Authentication for details.
Command arguments:	If no arguments are passed in, the command assumes the .git repository is located at current directory.
path to .git	Path to the directory which includes the .git directory.

Cleaning Up Unreferenced Files Examples

Example 1: Recommended Starting Point — Dry Run with Explicit Repository

Before deleting any files, use --dry-run with --repo to preview what would be removed. This is the recommended way to start, especially for first-time use.

jf rt glc --dry-run --repo=my-gitlfs-repo

Expected output:

[Info] Searching files from Artifactory repository my-gitlfs-repo ...
[Info] The following 3 files are not referenced in git and will be deleted from Artifactory:
my-gitlfs-repo/objects/ab/cd/abcd1234...
my-gitlfs-repo/objects/ef/gh/efgh5678...
my-gitlfs-repo/objects/ij/kl/ijkl9012...
[Info] Dry run. No files were deleted.

If there are no unreferenced files, the output will indicate that nothing was found.

Example 2: Clean Up Using the Current Directory

This example cleans up Git LFS files from Artifactory using the .git directory in the current directory. The LFS repository is auto-detected from .lfsconfig or .git/config. If auto-detection fails, use --repo as shown in Examples 4 and 5.

jf rt glc

Expected output (when LFS repo is auto-detected):

[Info] Searching files from Artifactory repository <detected-repo> ...
[Info] The following files are not referenced in git and will be deleted from Artifactory:
...
Delete the above files? (y/n): y
[Info] Deleted X files from Artifactory.

Example 3: Clean Up Using a Specific Path

This example cleans up Git LFS files from Artifactory using the .git directory located inside path/to/git/config. The LFS repository is auto-detected from that Git repo's configuration.

jf rt glc path/to/git/config

Example 4: Dry Run to Preview Deletions

This example simulates the cleanup without actually deleting any files. Always pass --repo when the Git repo does not have an Artifactory LFS URL configured.

jf rt glc --dry-run --repo=my-gitlfs-repo

Expected output:

[Info] Searching files from Artifactory repository my-gitlfs-repo ...
[Info] Dry run. No files were deleted.

Example 5: Clean Up with Specific Repository

This example cleans up a named Git LFS repository in Artifactory. The user is prompted for confirmation before deletion.

jf rt glc --repo=my-gitlfs-repo

Expected output:

[Info] Searching files from Artifactory repository my-gitlfs-repo ...
[Info] The following files are not referenced in git and will be deleted from Artifactory:
...
Delete the above files? (y/n): y
[Info] Deleted X files from Artifactory.

Example 6: Clean Up with Custom Refs

This example preserves files referenced by HEAD and all remote branches. Quote the --refs value to prevent shell glob expansion (required on zsh and bash when the path does not match existing files).

jf rt glc --repo=my-gitlfs-repo --refs='HEAD,refs/remotes/*'

📘
Note
The command jf rt glc --refs=HEAD,refs/remotes/* (unquoted) will fail in zsh with no matches found because the shell expands * before passing the argument to the CLI.

Example 7: Quiet Mode for CI/CD Pipelines

This example runs the cleanup without confirmation prompts, suitable for automated pipelines. The --quiet flag is automatically set to true when the $CI environment variable is present.

jf rt glc --quiet --repo=my-gitlfs-repo

Expected output:

[Info] Searching files from Artifactory repository my-gitlfs-repo ...
[Info] Deleted X files from Artifactory.

Example 8: With Retry Configuration

This example configures retry behavior for unreliable network connections.

jf rt glc --repo=my-gitlfs-repo --retries=5 --retry-wait-time=10s