diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/upstream-sync.yml b/.gitea/workflows/upstream-sync.yml
index d3031c21ec..1fe9d1adfe 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/upstream-sync.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/upstream-sync.yml
@@ -17,6 +17,13 @@ on:
 jobs:
   sync-main:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    env:
+      # The repo's .gitattributes (inherited from upstream) routes the
+      # screenshots/ tree through git-lfs. Gitea's LFS store doesn't hold
+      # those blobs, so on checkout the smudge filter tries to 404-download
+      # them and wedges git state for subsequent fetches. We don't need
+      # the image bytes here — leave LFS pointers as-is.
+      GIT_LFS_SKIP_SMUDGE: '1'
 
     steps:
       - name: Checkout main
@@ -24,6 +31,7 @@ jobs:
         with:
           ref: main
           fetch-depth: 0
+          lfs: false
           # Built-in token Gitea hands us — scoped to this repo, has push.
           token: ${{ secrets.GITEA_TOKEN }}