diff --git a/cmd/flags.go b/cmd/flags.go
index 55f716f..8ac09ec 100644
--- a/cmd/flags.go
+++ b/cmd/flags.go
@@ -68,11 +68,13 @@ var ServeFlags = []cli.Flag{
 		Name:    "enable-lfs-support",
 		Usage:   "enable lfs support, require gitea v1.17.0 as backend",
 		EnvVars: []string{"ENABLE_LFS_SUPPORT"},
+		Value:   true,
 	},
 	&cli.BoolFlag{
 		Name:    "enable-symlink-support",
 		Usage:   "follow symlinks if enabled, require gitea v1.18.0 as backend",
 		EnvVars: []string{"ENABLE_SYMLINK_SUPPORT"},
+		Value:   true,
 	},
 	&cli.StringFlag{
 		Name:    "log-level",
diff --git a/server/gitea/client.go b/server/gitea/client.go
index 56e1221..4fcdf53 100644
--- a/server/gitea/client.go
+++ b/server/gitea/client.go
@@ -86,7 +86,9 @@ func (client *Client) ServeRawContent(targetOwner, targetRepo, ref, resource str
 
 	switch resp.StatusCode() {
 	case fasthttp.StatusOK:
-		if client.followSymlinks && string(resp.Header.Peek(giteaObjectTypeHeader)) == "symlink" {
+		objType := string(resp.Header.Peek(giteaObjectTypeHeader))
+		log.Trace().Msgf("server raw content object: %s", objType)
+		if client.followSymlinks && objType == "symlink" {
 			linkDest := strings.TrimSpace(string(resp.Body()))
 			log.Debug().Msgf("follow symlink from '%s' to '%s'", resource, linkDest)
 			return client.ServeRawContent(targetOwner, targetRepo, ref, linkDest)