Check Out Only Part of a Repo With sparse-checkout

Reduce a huge working tree to the directories you actually edit.

macOSperformancegitcliLow risk

Run git sparse-checkout set src/ docs/ to keep only those paths in the working tree.

01Command

Command

$ git sparse-checkout set src/ docs/

02What it does

Sparse checkout lets you clone a monorepo but materialize only a subset of paths, saving disk and IDE indexing time while keeping full history available. It is a terminal-first feature for large-scale development.

03Risk

RiskLow risk

RequirementsGit 2.20+ (install with Homebrew or Xcode Command Line Tools)

CompatibilitymacOS with Git installed (Homebrew or Xcode Command Line Tools)

!Warning: Files outside the sparse set appear deleted to tools that scan the filesystem; remember they still exist in the repository.

04Undo

✓No undo needed — this command does not change persistent state.

05Sources

git-sparse-checkout documentation
Git · vendor-doc · 2026-09-20
Evidence: Documents sparse-checkout, which limits the working tree to selected paths.

Last verified: 2026-10-13 · Category: Developer