BitBucket HTTP Credential Prompts

Large binary PcbLib and Step files can cause issues for Git Pulls

If you prefer not to use SSH and want to keep using HTTPS without those annoying intermittent credential prompts, you can fix the underlying helper token caching in your global Git config. Run these three lines in your command line or Git Bash:

Using PowerShell . . .  enter

git config --global credential.helper manager

git config --global credential.useHttpPath true

git config --global core.compression 0

• credential.useHttpPath: Forces Git to differentiate between different paths and tokens on the same domain so it doesn't get confused.
  
  
• core.compression 0: Disables aggressive stream compression during pulls, which frequently triggers the "connection was forcibly closed by the remote host" error over standard HTTPS sockets when handling larger library files.

Suggestions for Large Binary Files stored in BitBucket Git Repos

Create and use a SSH Key:  How to Create a SSH Key for BitBucket

Secure Authentication: SSH relies on public-private cryptographic key pairs rather than passwords or personal access tokens (PATs), eliminating credential exposure risks.

Streamlined Workflows: Once your public key is registered with your repository host, you authenticate seamlessly without needing to repeatedly enter credentials or manage expiring tokens.

Enhanced Integrity: SSH establishes a direct, encrypted communication tunnel for all code transfers, preventing data interception or tampering in transit.

         Clean Pulls: Using SSH solves Intermittent Pull results

Delete Large Files

Committing and pushing a deletion will help if you use shallow pulls (--depth 1), because a depth-1 fetch only pulls the snapshot of the latest commit tip. If the file is absent in that latest commit, Git will no longer download it during a shallow pull.

• Shallow Pull Benefit: Since your workflow uses --depth 1, removing the files from the active branch and pushing the change means subsequent pulls will skip downloading them entirely.
  
  
• Persistent History: The files will remain stored in older historical commits on Bitbucket unless you completely purge them using history-rewriting tools like git filter-repo.
  
  
• Full Clones: Anyone performing a deep, full clone (instead of a shallow one) will still download the file blobs contained in the repository's past history.

About Using LFS ( Too Many Headaches and Pain Points )  Not Recommended

Implementing Git LFS (Large File Storage) is the definitive, long-term solution for handling repositories packed with massive CAD files.

• Out-of-Band Storage: Git LFS replaces heavy files like your 43MB .STEP models and .PcbLib binaries with tiny lightweight text pointer files (~1 KB) in your main Git history.
  
  
• Separate Download Streams: Instead of forcing Git's primary packfile stream to compress and push/pull giant binaries all at once (which triggers those socket timeouts), LFS uploads and downloads the actual binary assets over separate, dedicated HTTPS connections only when checking out files.
  
  
• Reduced Repo Bloat: It keeps your local repository clone size minimal, meaning standard pulls and status checks run instantly without choking on historical binary revisions.
  
  

Setting it up requires migrating existing history via git lfs track "*.STEP" and git lfs track "*.PcbLib", then pushing the pointer migration to Bitbucket, but it completely eliminates the underlying transport bottleneck caused by large CAD components.

Transitioning to Git LFS requires action from every user who clones or interacts with the repository.

• Initial Tool Installation: Every developer must install the Git LFS client on their local machine (git lfs install) so their system knows how to handle and resolve the pointer files.
  
  
• One-Time Retrofit Pull: Existing collaborators will need to run git lfs pull after their next normal pull or clone to fetch the actual binary .STEP and .PcbLib assets into their local working directories.
  
  
• Workflow Continuity: Once LFS is initialized in the repository configuration files (.gitattributes), standard commits and pulls handle the pointer files automatically without requiring extra manual commands for everyday changes.

• Bandwidth & Storage Quotas: Bitbucket enforces strict monthly storage and bandwidth limits for Git LFS data on standard tiers, meaning heavy .STEP model libraries can quickly exhaust your included plan and require purchasing add-on data packs.
  
  
• Locked File Conflicts: Because Git LFS tracks binaries as individual pointers, multiple engineers modifying the same binary component library file simultaneously cannot merge changes, often resulting in unmergeable conflicts where one person's work gets overwritten.
  
  
• Initial Migration Complexity: Converting an existing repository requires rewriting history to track existing extensions (*.STEP, *.PcbLib), forcing every collaborator to fresh-clone the repo or perform a complex git lfs fetch --all to prevent broken pointer references.
  
  
• CI/CD Pipeline Friction: Any automated build scripts, backup routines, or deployment tasks running against the repo must explicitly install and run git lfs pull, otherwise automation servers will just build empty 1-kilobyte text pointers instead of the actual CAD files.