Git monorepo - recommendation regarding usage of sparse-checkout

Hello, we are experimenting with migrating a large-ish code base from SVN to a Git Monorepo and it would help us if we can get some input regarding the usage of sparse-checkout.

From our timing experiments sparse-checkout is the only method so far that reduces our times to good results.

The only issue might be the Disclaimer that the sparse-checkout feature is experimental, and that the behavior will change.

We have tried Full, Shallow, Blobless, Treeless clones in all combinations and it takes 25-40 minutes for each operation (checkout and branch switching). Sparse checkouts reduce these times to a few minutes to checkout and a few seconds to switch branches for each sub-project/sparse set. Our code base doesn't have binary blobs - only text.

Out of the high level use cases we would say B ("Users want a sparse working tree but are working in a larger whole") fits us. https://git-scm.com/docs/sparse-checkout#_purpose_of_sparse_checkouts

The command is already featured in GitHub and GitLab articles about reducing Monorepos size but we are still not sure how un/stable the feature is or how commonly used the feature is already.

So, we thought we'll write an email to see if we can get a bit more nuanced answer about the safety of real-world usage so that we can make an informed decision whether or not to start using sparse-checkout, despite it being experimental.

We are not looking for 100% assurance, we know the responsibility is eventually totally ours and there are no guarantees, but it seems like a game changer so we are just looking for a bit more information so that we can make a decision.

Best Regards,

Gil Mor SW Developer Cross Industry Solutions

Luxoft A DXC Company