Github-hosted agents struggle due to missing LFS #3271

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1. HannesWell commented on Apr 25, 2026

   

   HannesWell

   on Apr 25, 2026

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   Would it be better to enable LFS support, if the repository is using LFS?

   Unfortunately the git-lfs fetch bandwidth is limited:
   https://docs.github.com/en/billing/concepts/product-billing/git-lfs

   Therefore fetching should be avoided if not really necessary. And in github workflows or agents, the natives can can be build from scratch (for free and little overhead) easier than on developer machines. Developers should be be favored when it comes to the usage of the lfs bandwidth.

   AI agents are confused by LFS test links and have to investigate them in every session:

   Ah, the .so files are ASCII text, not binary ELF files! They're likely Git LFS pointers or some kind of placeholder. That's why they fail with "invalid ELF header".I need to build the native libraries from source. Let me try the native build:

   Instead of just fetching lfs objects, I suggest to explain the situation in the AGENTS.md file better and guide AIs what to do.
   In general you have to pay great attention what AI suggests you, especially with the setup of SWT as it seems to get confused easily about many aspects (and can give you false suggestions):

   • Fix copilot agents setup #3198
2. basilevs

   closed this as not plannedon Apr 25, 2026
3. HannesWell commented on Apr 25, 2026

   

   HannesWell

   on Apr 25, 2026

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   @basilevs I considered this for the general documentation of the LFS usage in

   • Document Git Large File Storage usage in SWT #3272

   Please have a look.
4. basilevs commented on Jun 2, 2026

   

   basilevs

   on Jun 2, 2026

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   This has happened again. I wonder, if AGENTS.md is ignored by Github copilot..
5. laeubi commented on Jun 3, 2026

   

   laeubi

   on Jun 3, 2026

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   I have made a script actually to avoid the problem but it was removed here f1d7c30.

   The AGENTS.md is read for sure but I can't find any hints there regarding building the natives is a must it only is referenced in the gtk specific instructions but these only apply to .c/.h files.

   So in my opinion we should just compile the natives beforehand there are seldom cases where it sufficient to not have them - especially now where copilot usage is charged per AI credits, so the less effort for the agent the better...