{"id":49487,"date":"2025-05-27T02:10:53","date_gmt":"2025-05-27T02:10:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/?p=49487"},"modified":"2026-02-21T07:28:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T07:28:53","slug":"gitlab-what-are-locked-files-concept-in-gitlab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/gitlab-what-are-locked-files-concept-in-gitlab\/","title":{"rendered":"GitLab: What are Locked Files Concept in GitLab?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In GitLab 18.0<\/strong>, the “Locked Files”<\/strong> feature under the Code<\/strong> section is specifically designed to help teams working with binary files<\/strong> or non-mergeable assets<\/strong> (e.g., images, CAD drawings, videos, large design files) where Git’s default merge model doesn’t work well<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udd10 What are Locked Files in GitLab?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u2705 Definition<\/strong>:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n

Locked files are specific files in your repository<\/strong> that are locked by a user<\/strong> to prevent others from modifying them<\/strong> until the lock is released.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This is useful when concurrent editing would cause conflicts<\/strong> or corruption \u2014 especially for binary or non-text files<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udccc Key Use Cases<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Use Case<\/th>Why Lock?<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Graphic design files (.psd<\/code>, .ai<\/code>, .fig<\/code>)<\/td>Prevent designers from overwriting each other’s changes<\/td><\/tr>
Game development (Unity assets)<\/td>Avoid asset merge conflicts<\/td><\/tr>
CAD\/3D modeling files (.dwg<\/code>, .blend<\/code>)<\/td>Prevent corruption due to parallel edits<\/td><\/tr>
Audio\/Video files<\/td>Version control without collisions<\/td><\/tr>
Any large binary file<\/td>Git can’t merge them cleanly \u2014 one editor at a time is safest<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

\ud83e\udded How It Works in GitLab (18.0)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  1. Navigate to Project \u2192 Code \u2192 Locked Files<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Click \u201cLock a file\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Browse or search for the file you want to lock (must be in the default branch or your working branch)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Once locked:\n
      \n
    • Only the locker<\/strong> can commit changes to that file<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Others will get a commit error<\/strong> or merge conflict warning<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • To unlock:\n
        \n
      • The same user (or a Maintainer) can release the lock<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
        \n\n\n\n

        \ud83d\udea6 Permission Rules<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
        Role<\/th>Can Lock?<\/th>Can Unlock?<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
        Developer<\/td>\u2705 Own locks<\/td>\u274c Other user\u2019s locks<\/td><\/tr>
        Maintainer<\/td>\u2705 Any file<\/td>\u2705 Any lock<\/td><\/tr>
        Guest\/Reporter<\/td>\u274c<\/td>\u274c<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
        \n\n\n\n

        \ud83d\udca1 CLI Git Integration (Git LFS)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        If you’re using Git LFS<\/strong> (Large File Storage):<\/p>\n\n\n

        # Lock a file via Git CLI<\/span>\ngit lfs lock path\/to\/file.psd\n\n# Unlock<\/span>\ngit lfs unlock path\/to\/file.psd\n\n# View locks<\/span>\ngit lfs locks\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
        \n
        GitLab integrates with Git LFS locking<\/strong> if it’s enabled in the repository.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
        \n\n\n\n
        \ud83d\udeab What Locked Files Do Not Do<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        • \u274c They don\u2019t prevent read access (just writing).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • \u274c They don\u2019t encrypt or hide files.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • \u274c They don\u2019t apply to all files automatically \u2014 you must lock intentionally.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
          \n\n\n\n
          \ud83d\udd04 Where It Fits in Workflow<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
            \n
          • Integrates well in teams using design review pipelines<\/strong>, game pipelines<\/strong>, or documentation<\/strong> with binary artifacts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • You might combine it with:\n
              \n
            • Branch protection rules<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • File-specific approval rules<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Web IDE \/ VS Code integrations<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
              \n\n\n\n
              \ud83d\udce6 Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
              Feature<\/th>Details<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
              What it does<\/td>Prevents edits to non-mergeable files by multiple users<\/td><\/tr>
              Where to find it<\/td>Code > Locked Files<\/code><\/td><\/tr>
              Who can use it<\/td>Developers (own), Maintainers (any)<\/td><\/tr>
              Works best for<\/td>Binary assets, media, game files, CAD, design<\/td><\/tr>
              Git integration<\/td>Git LFS (git lfs lock\/unlock<\/code>)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
              \n\n\n\n
              <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
              In GitLab 18.0, the “Locked Files” feature under the Code section is specifically designed to help teams working with binary files or non-mergeable assets (e.g., images, CAD drawings, videos, large… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49487"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49487\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58988,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49487\/revisions\/58988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}