Repository list transfer and Cheap LFS

Repository list transfer moves a reviewed set of cloned repositories between Desktop Material profiles or machines. It is deliberately a clone recipe, not a credential or storage-state backup.

Behavior and configuration

• Export resolves each selected repository's GitHub clone URL, or its origin/first Git remote when no GitHub metadata is available.
• Export sanitizes HTTP(S) user information, removes query and fragment data, and writes only a versioned list of portable clone URLs plus an export timestamp. Local checkout paths, file: URLs, access tokens, account identities, default branches, and Cheap LFS file selections are not portable data in this format.
• Import lets the user review and check the URLs, choose a destination directory, and run the existing bounded parallel or sequential batch-clone queue.
• After each successful batch clone, the same finalization path used by normal cloning calls the automatic Cheap LFS materializer. It is enabled by default by the repository setting Download large files after cloning.
• With no portable file selection, restoration considers the detected pointer set. Release-backed pointers require an eligible selected account; public OCI pointers may restore anonymously. The imported list does not silently choose a different account on behalf of the user.

Failure modes and recovery

• An invalid, unsupported, or structurally corrupt list is rejected before any clone starts.
• Import also rejects a non-portable URL before it can reach git clone; the accepted schemes are HTTP(S), SSH, Git-over-SSH, Git, and Git's scp-like SSH spelling.
• URLs already present in the local repository list are shown as already cloned and are not checked by default.
• A clone failure is isolated to its batch row. Other rows can complete, and the queue's existing pause, cancel, retry, and crash-recovery behavior still applies.
• If automatic Cheap LFS restoration is disabled, no eligible provider account is available, or a provider object cannot be verified, the clone remains usable with its pointer files intact. The user can enable the repository setting or restore the files later from the repository's Cheap LFS surface.
• An explicit manifest-bound Cheap LFS selection is intentionally not exported: it can become stale when the default branch, manifest, pointer set, or account changes on another machine. The clone UI can create a fresh selection at the destination when that precision is needed.

Security considerations

The transfer file is safe to share only as a list of repository locations, not as an authentication artifact. HTTP(S) userinfo, query strings, and fragments are removed on both export and parse, and local/file URLs are rejected rather than treated as clone sources. The format never serializes account tokens, local paths, release credentials, registry credentials, or Cheap LFS selection proofs. Account affinity remains in local repository state, and automatic restoration uses the same selected-account and provider checks as every other Cheap LFS operation.

Verification

• repo-list-file-test.ts proves URL normalization, credential stripping, query/fragment removal, portable-URL enforcement, duplicate removal, and malformed-file rejection.
• repository-list-transfer-cheap-lfs-test.ts pins the URL-only contract, verifies that imported clones enter the batch finalization materialization path, verifies the enabled-by-default preference, and checks localized transfer copy.
• account-search-test.ts proves private email metadata stays out of search and self-hosted provider labels remain accurate. The account-switcher tests cover invalid-regex activation blocking, listbox semantics, keyboard activation, and narrow-layout rules.
• The Windows production build and the hidden-desktop acceptance flow should exercise the import dialog's large-file note and the batch finalization progress surface when a disposable pointer fixture is available.

Suggested articles

• Release-backed large-file storage — configure the storage provider, account, and restoration workflow.
• Cheap LFS versus Git LFS comparison — compare the large-file model with standard Git LFS.
• Clone queue settings — configure the bounded batch-clone destination and concurrency mode.