GIT_LFS_SKIP_SMUDGE=1 always set

Ideas Feature Requests
1

In Cursor Cloud Agent Environments, it looks like GIT_LFS_SKIP_SMUDGE=1 is always present. I understand that the primary goal is for fast checkouts during install and maybe during startup. Since we utilize LFS extensively, we’ve had to build a fair amount of workarounds in our environment definitions to unset this variable during agent turns/terminal operation because otherwise git does not bring down LFS files (and it’s tedious to keep having to remember to issue git lfs pull, even for the agent).

Is it perhaps just an oversight that GIT_LFS_SKIP_SMUDGE=1 is injected into the environment even after install/startup?

2

Hi there!

We detected that this may be a bug report, so we’ve moved your post to the Bug Reports category.

To help us investigate and fix this faster, could you edit your original post to include the details from the template below?

Bug Report Template - Click to expand

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

  • Editor, Tab & Chat (autocomplete, Composer, in-editor agent)
  • Terminal & commands
  • Models, pricing & API keys (availability, Auto/Max, BYOK/Bedrock)
  • MCP & tools
  • Cloud Agents & Automations (cursor.com/agents, scheduled/event)
  • BugBot & Code Review
  • Cursor CLI
  • Cursor Mobile
  • Remote (SSH / Dev Containers / WSL)
  • Account, billing & login
  • Something else…

Describe the Bug
A clear and concise description of what the bug is.

Steps to Reproduce
How can you reproduce this bug? We have a much better chance at fixing issues if we can reproduce them!

  1. …
  2. …
  3. …

Expected Behavior
What is meant to happen here that isn’t working correctly?

Screenshots / Screen Recordings
If applicable, attach images or videos (.jpg, .png, .gif, .mp4, .mov)

Operating System

  • Windows 10/11
  • MacOS
  • Linux

Version Information

  • For Cursor IDE: Menu → About Cursor → Copy
  • For Cursor CLI: Run agent about in your terminal
IDE:
Version: 2.xx.x
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: ......

CLI:
CLI Version 2026.01.17-d239e66

For AI issues: which model did you use?
Model name (e.g., Sonnet 4, Tab…)

For AI issues: add Request ID with privacy disabled
Request ID: f9a7046a-279b-47e5-ab48-6e8dc12daba1
For Background Agent issues, also post the ID: bc-…

Additional Information
Add any other context about the problem here.

Does this stop you from using Cursor?

  • Yes - Cursor is unusable
  • Sometimes - I can sometimes use Cursor
  • No - Cursor works, but with this issue

The more details you provide, the easier it is for us to reproduce and fix the issue. Thanks!

5

I don’t think this is a bug-- it may just be a design oversight. But here’s the template anyways:

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

  • Editor, Tab & Chat (autocomplete, Composer, in-editor agent)
  • Terminal & commands
  • Models, pricing & API keys (availability, Auto/Max, BYOK/Bedrock)
  • MCP & tools
  • Cloud Agents & Automations (cursor.com/agents, scheduled/event)
  • BugBot & Code Review
  • Cursor CLI
  • Cursor Mobile
  • Remote (SSH / Dev Containers / WSL)
  • Account, billing & login
  • Something else…

Describe the Bug
GIT_LFS_SKIP_SMUDGE is set to 1 even after install/startup.

Steps to Reproduce
How can you reproduce this bug? We have a much better chance at fixing issues if we can reproduce them!

  1. Launch any Cursor Cloud Agent Environment.
  2. In the terminal, execute echo $GIT_LFS_SKIP_SMUDGE
  3. Observe that it is 1.
  4. Observe that any git checkout or git pull operations do not materialize LFS files, only the pointers end up on disk.

Expected Behavior
What is meant to happen here that isn’t working correctly?

I would expect the variable to not be set after install/startup have completed. I’m actually not really sure it should be set when those scripts run, either, because the first thing we have to do in those scripts is unset it.

Screenshots / Screen Recordings
If applicable, attach images or videos (.jpg, .png, .gif, .mp4, .mov)

N/A

Operating System

  • Windows 10/11
  • MacOS
  • Linux

Version Information

N/A

For AI issues: which model did you use?
Model name (e.g., Sonnet 4, Tab…)

N/A

For AI issues: add Request ID with privacy disabled
Request ID: f9a7046a-279b-47e5-ab48-6e8dc12daba1
For Background Agent issues, also post the ID: bc-…

N/A

Additional Information
Add any other context about the problem here.

N/A

Does this stop you from using Cursor?

No

6

Hey @Mark_Derbecker, it’s intentional: it keeps clones and checkouts from failing when LFS files can’t be downloaded, but right now it stays set for the whole session, not just setup. There’s no setting to turn it off, so unsetting it in your environment setup is the right workaround for now. We’re tracking this as a feature request to limit it to setup or make it configurable.

8

Thank you!