git sparse-checkout

Make huge repos workable on small disks.

🎯 What & why

Materialize only some directories of the repo into the working tree. The rest exists in .git/ but isn't checked out. Essential for huge monorepos.

🧠 Mental model

Sparse-checkout configures the skip-worktree bit on index entries you don't want materialized. The object DB stays complete; the working tree is partial. Two modes: cone (directory-prefix matching, fast) and non-cone (full pathspec, more flexible).

🛠️ Synopsis

git sparse-checkout (init|list|set|add|reapply|disable|check-rules) [<options>]

🎚️ Switches & options

Flag	What it does
`init [--cone]`	Enable sparse-checkout with cone mode (recommended).
`set <patterns>...`	Define which paths to include.
`add <patterns>...`	Add to the existing pattern set.
`list`	Show current patterns.
`disable`	Restore full checkout.

📦 Subcommands

init [--cone] — Enable sparse-checkout. Cone mode is faster and recommended.

$ git sparse-checkout init --cone

set <patterns>... — Replace the include set.

$ git sparse-checkout set src/ docs/

add <patterns>... — Append to the existing include set.

$ git sparse-checkout add tests/

list — Show current patterns.

$ git sparse-checkout list

reapply — Re-evaluate skip-worktree bits after .gitattributes changes.

$ git sparse-checkout reapply

disable — Restore a full checkout.

$ git sparse-checkout disable

check-rules — Test patterns against paths read from stdin.

$ echo 'src/main.c' | git sparse-checkout check-rules

💡 Use cases

Working in a monorepo where you only need a slice.
Reducing disk usage on large repos.
CI: clone but only check out the affected paths.

🧪 Examples

Initialize and check out only two directories.

$ git sparse-checkout init --cone
$ git sparse-checkout set src/ docs/

Add another directory.

$ git sparse-checkout add tests/

Disable and restore everything.

$ git sparse-checkout disable

🎓 Recommendations

Pair with --filter=blob:none on clone for true partial-clone benefit.
Cone mode is faster and easier to reason about. Use it unless you have a specific need otherwise.

🪤 Common pitfalls

Files outside the sparse cone are still tracked — they just aren't materialized. Editing them requires expanding the cone first.
Some tools (older IDEs) don't understand skip-worktree and act surprised.

🔗 Related modules

📝 Quiz

Hit each option, then Check answers. Score is recorded; Next is always open.