diff --git a/packages/git/src/operation-manager.ts b/packages/git/src/operation-manager.ts
index fc54bb286..404ced127 100644
--- a/packages/git/src/operation-manager.ts
+++ b/packages/git/src/operation-manager.ts
@@ -12,8 +12,15 @@ import { AsyncReaderWriterLock } from "./rw-lock";
  * Chromium browser (GPU init → SIGTRAP crash). We strip most ELECTRON_/
  * CHROME_ vars but explicitly keep ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE=1 so any such
  * shim still behaves as plain Node.js.
+ *
+ * GIT_LFS_SKIP_SMUDGE=1 prevents the LFS filter from running during
+ * checkout/clone/worktree operations. Users who don't have git-lfs
+ * installed (but whose repo declares `filter=lfs` in .gitattributes)
+ * would otherwise hit `git-lfs: command not found` and fail the op.
+ * Pointer files are preserved; real LFS content can be fetched later
+ * with `git lfs pull` if the user installs git-lfs.
  */
-function getCleanEnv(): Record<string, string> {
+export function getCleanEnv(): Record<string, string> {
   const env: Record<string, string> = {};
   for (const [key, value] of Object.entries(process.env)) {
     if (value === undefined) continue;
@@ -22,6 +29,7 @@ function getCleanEnv(): Record<string, string> {
     env[key] = value;
   }
   env.ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE = "1";
+  env.GIT_LFS_SKIP_SMUDGE = "1";
   return env;
 }
 
diff --git a/packages/git/src/sagas/clone.ts b/packages/git/src/sagas/clone.ts
index a0570c530..08df9bbf2 100644
--- a/packages/git/src/sagas/clone.ts
+++ b/packages/git/src/sagas/clone.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import * as fs from "node:fs/promises";
 import { Saga } from "@posthog/shared";
 import { createGitClient } from "../client";
-import { getGitOperationManager } from "../operation-manager";
+import { getCleanEnv, getGitOperationManager } from "../operation-manager";
 
 export interface CloneInput {
   repoUrl: string;
@@ -39,7 +39,9 @@ export class CloneSaga extends Saga<CloneInput, CloneOutput> {
                     onProgress(stage, progress, processed, total)
                 : undefined,
             });
-            await git.clone(repoUrl, targetPath, ["--progress"]);
+            await git
+              .env(getCleanEnv())
+              .clone(repoUrl, targetPath, ["--progress"]);
           },
           rollback: async () => {
             try {
diff --git a/packages/git/src/worktree.ts b/packages/git/src/worktree.ts
index 65e57da89..4eb299fa8 100644
--- a/packages/git/src/worktree.ts
+++ b/packages/git/src/worktree.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import { execFile, spawn } from "node:child_process";
 import * as crypto from "node:crypto";
 import * as fs from "node:fs/promises";
 import * as path from "node:path";
-import { getGitOperationManager } from "./operation-manager";
+import { getCleanEnv, getGitOperationManager } from "./operation-manager";
 import {
   addToLocalExclude,
   branchExists,
@@ -327,6 +327,7 @@ export class WorktreeManager {
         {
           cwd: this.mainRepoPath,
           stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "pipe"],
+          env: getCleanEnv(),
         },
       );