AZ-400 Practice Question: Design and implement a source control strategy
Which TWO benefits does using Git LFS (Large File Storage) provide? (Select TWO.)
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse Git LFS with general compression or diff optimization, but LFS specifically addresses repository bloat by externalizing large binary storage, not by compressing or speeding up diffs.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Prevents large files from being stored in the Git history
Git LFS (Large File Storage) prevents large files from being stored directly in the Git repository history (option B). Instead, it stores a small pointer file in the repo while the actual large file content is stored externally, which reduces the size of the Git repository (option E). Options A, C, and D are incorrect because LFS does not automatically compress all files, replace .gitignore, or speed up diff operations for binary files.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Automatically compresses all files in the repository
Why it's wrong here
Git LFS does not compress repository contents; it replaces large files with small pointer text and stores the actual bytes in external storage. Compression of Git objects is handled separately by Git's own zlib, which applies equally to repos with or without LFS.
- ✓
Prevents large files from being stored in the Git history
Why this is correct
With Git LFS, the large file's content is never committed into the local repository or pushed to the remote Git server; instead only a lightweight pointer file is tracked in history. This prevents the large binary from bloating every clone, fetch, and push, keeping the Git history lean and manageable.
- ✗
Replaces .gitignore for excluding large files
Why it's wrong here
Git LFS does not function as a replacement for .gitignore: .gitignore excludes files entirely from version control, while LFS deliberately tracks those files in the repository (as pointers) so they remain versioned. The two mechanisms solve opposite problems — one prevents tracking, the other enables tracking without storing the full file in history.
- ✗
Speeds up diff operations for binary files
Why it's wrong here
Git LFS does not improve diff performance for binary files; Git cannot meaningfully diff most binary formats, and LFS pointers are stored as text but the actual content remains external. The pointer diff only shows a change in the hash, not a content diff, and no speedup for binary diff operations is provided.
- ✓
Reduces the size of Git repositories by storing large files as pointers
Why this is correct
By replacing each large file with a small pointer (typically a few hundred bytes of text) and moving the actual file content to an external LFS store, the Git repository's total size is drastically reduced. This keeps clones and fetches fast while still allowing the large files to be retrieved on demand from the LFS server.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Managing Infrastructure as Code Using Azure
Key term
Repository
A repository is a central storage location where software packages, code, or configuration files are kept, managed, and distributed for use by IT systems.
Key term
Git
Git is a version control system that tracks changes to files so multiple people can work on the same project without overwriting each other's work.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every AZ-400 question from scratch — 823 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This AZ-400 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the AZ-400 exam.