Theory

Theory: Scale is Reachability and Pack Shape

“Large” is commit count, tree width, blob size, and clone graph — not only disk bytes. Shallow, sparse, and partial clones cut different axes.

Invariants

1. Shallow (--depth) cuts history length.
2. Sparse checkout cuts which paths materialize in the working tree.
3. Partial clone cuts which blobs you download until needed (--filter).
4. Commit-graph and bitmaps speed log and fetch on the server and client.

full clone     all commits, trees, blobs
shallow        last N commits
sparse         all objects, few WD paths
partial        delayed blobs

What can break

• Shallow clone then needing blame across all history.
• LFS-sized files without LFS.

How to read this chapter

What large means, the three clone cuts, git config tuning.