git-unlock

Enable the ability to commit changes of a previously-locked local file

$ git unlock [path/to/file]

git lfs unlock [--all | --force] [...]

--all
    Unlocks all files currently locked by the current user on the Git LFS server. This option cannot be used with specific paths.

--force
    Unlocks a file even if it was locked by another user. This requires appropriate permissions on the Git LFS server, often administrative access.

...
    One or more paths to the files to be unlocked. These paths must be relative to the repository root. This argument is omitted when using the --all option.

The git lfs unlock command is used to release file locks on the Git LFS server.

When a file is locked using git lfs lock, it prevents other collaborators from modifying that specific file on the server, ensuring that only the locking user can push changes to it. This mechanism is particularly useful for binary or large files that Git cannot efficiently merge, helping to avoid merge conflicts.

git lfs unlock allows the user who originally acquired the lock to release it, making the file available for modification by others. It can also be used with the --force option by an administrator or a user with appropriate permissions to unlock a file that was locked by another user, overriding their lock.

Unlocking a file locked by another user using --force requires administrative permissions on the Git LFS server. Misuse can lead to loss of work if another user is actively working on the locked file.

Locks are stored on the Git LFS server, not locally. Therefore, a network connection to the server is required for this command to succeed.

This command only affects files tracked by Git LFS.

For git lfs unlock to succeed when using the --force option, the user must have administrative privileges or specific permissions configured on the Git LFS server. Otherwise, attempting to unlock a file locked by another user will result in an error.

The locking and unlocking operations are performed against the Git LFS server configured for your repository. This means that these commands require connectivity to the remote Git LFS endpoint to function correctly and update the lock status.

File locking was introduced early in Git LFS's development to address challenges with concurrent modifications of large binary files that Git's standard merging capabilities couldn't handle well. It provides a more robust collaboration workflow for assets managed by Git LFS, ensuring atomic updates for specific files.

git lfs lock(1), git lfs locks(1), git lfs(1)