diff --git a/upload-pack.c b/upload-pack.c
index e8c5cce1c7..b3a8561ef5 100644
--- a/upload-pack.c
+++ b/upload-pack.c
@@ -457,11 +457,9 @@ static void create_pack_file(struct upload_pack_data *pack_data,
 	}
 
 	/* flush the data */
-	if (output_state->used > 0) {
+	if (output_state->used > 0)
 		send_client_data(1, output_state->buffer, output_state->used,
 				 pack_data->use_sideband);
-		fprintf(stderr, "flushed.\n");
-	}
 	free(output_state);
 	if (pack_data->use_sideband)
 		packet_flush(1);

diff --git a/upload-pack.c b/upload-pack.c
index b3a8561ef5..f6f380a601 100644
--- a/upload-pack.c
+++ b/upload-pack.c
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@
 #include "commit-graph.h"
 #include "commit-reach.h"
 #include "shallow.h"
+#include "trace.h"
 #include "write-or-die.h"
 #include "json-writer.h"
 #include "strmap.h"
@@ -218,7 +219,8 @@ struct output_state {
 };
 
 static int relay_pack_data(int pack_objects_out, struct output_state *os,
-			   int use_sideband, int write_packfile_line)
+			   int use_sideband, int write_packfile_line,
+			   bool *did_send_data)
 {
 	/*
 	 * We keep the last byte to ourselves
@@ -232,6 +234,8 @@ static int relay_pack_data(int pack_objects_out, struct output_state *os,
 	 */
 	ssize_t readsz;
 
+	*did_send_data = false;
+
 	readsz = xread(pack_objects_out, os->buffer + os->used,
 		       sizeof(os->buffer) - os->used);
 	if (readsz < 0) {
@@ -247,6 +251,7 @@ static int relay_pack_data(int pack_objects_out, struct output_state *os,
 				if (os->packfile_uris_started)
 					packet_delim(1);
 				packet_write_fmt(1, "\1packfile\n");
+				*did_send_data = true;
 			}
 			break;
 		}
@@ -259,6 +264,7 @@ static int relay_pack_data(int pack_objects_out, struct output_state *os,
 			}
 			*p = '\0';
 			packet_write_fmt(1, "\1%s\n", os->buffer);
+			*did_send_data = true;
 
 			os->used -= p - os->buffer + 1;
 			memmove(os->buffer, p + 1, os->used);
@@ -279,6 +285,7 @@ static int relay_pack_data(int pack_objects_out, struct output_state *os,
 		os->used = 0;
 	}
 
+	*did_send_data = true;
 	return readsz;
 }
 
@@ -290,6 +297,7 @@ static void create_pack_file(struct upload_pack_data *pack_data,
 	char progress[128];
 	char abort_msg[] = "aborting due to possible repository "
 		"corruption on the remote side.";
+	uint64_t last_sent_ms = 0;
 	ssize_t sz;
 	int i;
 	FILE *pipe_fd;
@@ -365,10 +373,14 @@ static void create_pack_file(struct upload_pack_data *pack_data,
 	 */
 
 	while (1) {
+		uint64_t now_ms = getnanotime() / 1000000;
 		struct pollfd pfd[2];
-		int pe, pu, pollsize, polltimeout;
+		int pe, pu, pollsize, polltimeout_ms;
 		int ret;
 
+		if (!last_sent_ms)
+			last_sent_ms = now_ms;
+
 		reset_timeout(pack_data->timeout);
 
 		pollsize = 0;
@@ -390,11 +402,21 @@ static void create_pack_file(struct upload_pack_data *pack_data,
 		if (!pollsize)
 			break;
 
-		polltimeout = pack_data->keepalive < 0
-			? -1
-			: 1000 * pack_data->keepalive;
+		if (pack_data->keepalive < 0) {
+			polltimeout_ms = -1;
+		} else {
+			/*
+			 * The polling timeout needs to be adjusted based on
+			 * the time we have sent our last package. The longer
+			 * it's been in the past, the shorter the timeout
+			 * becomes until we eventually don't block at all.
+			 */
+			polltimeout_ms = 1000 * pack_data->keepalive - (now_ms - last_sent_ms);
+			if (polltimeout_ms < 0)
+				polltimeout_ms = 0;
+		}
 
-		ret = poll(pfd, pollsize, polltimeout);
+		ret = poll(pfd, pollsize, polltimeout_ms);
 
 		if (ret < 0) {
 			if (errno != EINTR) {
@@ -403,16 +425,18 @@ static void create_pack_file(struct upload_pack_data *pack_data,
 			}
 			continue;
 		}
+
 		if (0 <= pe && (pfd[pe].revents & (POLLIN|POLLHUP))) {
 			/* Status ready; we ship that in the side-band
 			 * or dump to the standard error.
 			 */
 			sz = xread(pack_objects.err, progress,
 				  sizeof(progress));
-			if (0 < sz)
+			if (0 < sz) {
 				send_client_data(2, progress, sz,
 						 pack_data->use_sideband);
-			else if (sz == 0) {
+				last_sent_ms = now_ms;
+			} else if (sz == 0) {
 				close(pack_objects.err);
 				pack_objects.err = -1;
 			}
@@ -421,11 +445,14 @@ static void create_pack_file(struct upload_pack_data *pack_data,
 			/* give priority to status messages */
 			continue;
 		}
+
 		if (0 <= pu && (pfd[pu].revents & (POLLIN|POLLHUP))) {
+			bool did_send_data;
 			int result = relay_pack_data(pack_objects.out,
 						     output_state,
 						     pack_data->use_sideband,
-						     !!uri_protocols);
+						     !!uri_protocols,
+						     &did_send_data);
 
 			if (result == 0) {
 				close(pack_objects.out);
@@ -433,6 +460,9 @@ static void create_pack_file(struct upload_pack_data *pack_data,
 			} else if (result < 0) {
 				goto fail;
 			}
+
+			if (did_send_data)
+				last_sent_ms = now_ms;
 		}
 
 		/*
@@ -448,6 +478,7 @@ static void create_pack_file(struct upload_pack_data *pack_data,
 		if (!ret && pack_data->use_sideband) {
 			static const char buf[] = "0005\1";
 			write_or_die(1, buf, 5);
+			last_sent_ms = now_ms;
 		}
 	}
 

diff --git a/upload-pack.c b/upload-pack.c
index f6f380a601..7a165d226d 100644
--- a/upload-pack.c
+++ b/upload-pack.c
@@ -466,18 +466,27 @@ static void create_pack_file(struct upload_pack_data *pack_data,
 		}
 
 		/*
-		 * We hit the keepalive timeout without saying anything; send
-		 * an empty message on the data sideband just to let the other
-		 * side know we're still working on it, but don't have any data
-		 * yet.
+		 * We hit the keepalive timeout without saying anything. If we
+		 * have pending data we flush it out to the caller now.
+		 * Otherwise, we send an empty message on the data sideband
+		 * just to let the other side know we're still working on it,
+		 * but don't have any data yet.
 		 *
 		 * If we don't have a sideband channel, there's no room in the
 		 * protocol to say anything, so those clients are just out of
 		 * luck.
 		 */
 		if (!ret && pack_data->use_sideband) {
-			static const char buf[] = "0005\1";
-			write_or_die(1, buf, 5);
+			if (output_state->packfile_started && output_state->used > 1) {
+				send_client_data(1, output_state->buffer, output_state->used - 1,
+						 pack_data->use_sideband);
+				output_state->buffer[0] = output_state->buffer[output_state->used - 1];
+				output_state->used = 1;
+			} else {
+				static const char buf[] = "0005\1";
+				write_or_die(1, buf, 5);
+			}
+
 			last_sent_ms = now_ms;
 		}
 	}

diff --git a/upload-pack.c b/upload-pack.c
index 7a165d226d..9f6d6fe48c 100644
--- a/upload-pack.c
+++ b/upload-pack.c
@@ -276,6 +276,13 @@ static int relay_pack_data(int pack_objects_out, struct output_state *os,
 		}
 	}
 
+	/*
+	 * Make sure that we buffer some data before sending it to the client.
+	 * This significantly reduces the number of write(3p) syscalls.
+	 */
+	if (readsz && os->used < (sizeof(os->buffer) * 2 / 3))
+		return readsz;
+
 	if (os->used > 1) {
 		send_client_data(1, os->buffer, os->used - 1, use_sideband);
 		os->buffer[0] = os->buffer[os->used - 1];

Makefile, compat/posix.h, compat/writev.c, config.mak.uname, meson.build

diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index f3264d0a37..493851162d 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -2021,6 +2021,10 @@ ifdef NO_PREAD
 	COMPAT_CFLAGS += -DNO_PREAD
 	COMPAT_OBJS += compat/pread.o
 endif
+ifdef NO_WRITEV
+	COMPAT_CFLAGS += -DNO_WRITEV
+	COMPAT_OBJS += compat/writev.o
+endif
 ifdef NO_FAST_WORKING_DIRECTORY
 	BASIC_CFLAGS += -DNO_FAST_WORKING_DIRECTORY
 endif
diff --git a/compat/posix.h b/compat/posix.h
index 245386fa4a..3c611d2736 100644
--- a/compat/posix.h
+++ b/compat/posix.h
@@ -137,6 +137,9 @@
 #include <sys/socket.h>
 #include <sys/ioctl.h>
 #include <sys/statvfs.h>
+#ifndef NO_WRITEV
+#include <sys/uio.h>
+#endif
 #include <termios.h>
 #ifndef NO_SYS_SELECT_H
 #include <sys/select.h>
@@ -323,6 +326,17 @@ int git_lstat(const char *, struct stat *);
 ssize_t git_pread(int fd, void *buf, size_t count, off_t offset);
 #endif
 
+#ifdef NO_WRITEV
+#define writev git_writev
+#define iovec git_iovec
+struct git_iovec {
+	void *iov_base;
+	size_t iov_len;
+};
+
+ssize_t git_writev(int fd, const struct iovec *iov, int iovcnt);
+#endif
+
 #ifdef NO_SETENV
 #define setenv gitsetenv
 int gitsetenv(const char *, const char *, int);
diff --git a/compat/writev.c b/compat/writev.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3a94870a2f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compat/writev.c
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+#include "../git-compat-util.h"
+#include "../wrapper.h"
+
+ssize_t git_writev(int fd, const struct iovec *iov, int iovcnt)
+{
+	size_t total_written = 0;
+	size_t sum = 0;
+
+	/*
+	 * According to writev(3p), the syscall shall error with EINVAL in case
+	 * the sum of `iov_len` overflows `ssize_t`.
+	 */
+	 for (int i = 0; i < iovcnt; i++) {
+		if (iov[i].iov_len > maximum_signed_value_of_type(ssize_t) ||
+		    iov[i].iov_len + sum > maximum_signed_value_of_type(ssize_t)) {
+			errno = EINVAL;
+			return -1;
+		}
+
+		sum += iov[i].iov_len;
+	}
+
+	for (int i = 0; i < iovcnt; i++) {
+		const char *bytes = iov[i].iov_base;
+		size_t iovec_written = 0;
+
+		while (iovec_written < iov[i].iov_len) {
+			ssize_t bytes_written = xwrite(fd, bytes + iovec_written,
+						       iov[i].iov_len - iovec_written);
+			if (bytes_written < 0) {
+				if (total_written)
+					goto out;
+				return bytes_written;
+			}
+			if (!bytes_written)
+				goto out;
+			iovec_written += bytes_written;
+			total_written += bytes_written;
+		}
+	}
+
+out:
+	return (ssize_t) total_written;
+}
diff --git a/config.mak.uname b/config.mak.uname
index 5feb582558..ccb3f71881 100644
--- a/config.mak.uname
+++ b/config.mak.uname
@@ -459,6 +459,7 @@ ifeq ($(uname_S),Windows)
 	SANE_TOOL_PATH ?= $(msvc_bin_dir_msys)
 	HAVE_ALLOCA_H = YesPlease
 	NO_PREAD = YesPlease
+	NO_WRITEV = YesPlease
 	NEEDS_CRYPTO_WITH_SSL = YesPlease
 	NO_LIBGEN_H = YesPlease
 	NO_POLL = YesPlease
@@ -674,6 +675,7 @@ ifeq ($(uname_S),MINGW)
 	pathsep = ;
 	HAVE_ALLOCA_H = YesPlease
 	NO_PREAD = YesPlease
+	NO_WRITEV = YesPlease
 	NEEDS_CRYPTO_WITH_SSL = YesPlease
 	NO_LIBGEN_H = YesPlease
 	NO_POLL = YesPlease
diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index 4b536e0124..381974ab57 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -1414,6 +1414,7 @@ checkfuncs = {
   'initgroups' : [],
   'strtoumax' : ['strtoumax.c', 'strtoimax.c'],
   'pread' : ['pread.c'],
+  'writev' : ['writev.c'],
 }
 
 if host_machine.system() == 'windows'

wrapper.c, wrapper.h, write-or-die.c, write-or-die.h

diff --git a/wrapper.c b/wrapper.c
index 16f5a63fbb..be8fa575e6 100644
--- a/wrapper.c
+++ b/wrapper.c
@@ -323,6 +323,47 @@ ssize_t write_in_full(int fd, const void *buf, size_t count)
 	return total;
 }
 
+ssize_t writev_in_full(int fd, struct iovec *iov, int iovcnt)
+{
+	ssize_t total_written = 0;
+
+	while (iovcnt) {
+		ssize_t bytes_written = writev(fd, iov, iovcnt);
+		if (bytes_written < 0) {
+			if (errno == EINTR || errno == EAGAIN)
+				continue;
+			return -1;
+		}
+		if (!bytes_written) {
+			errno = ENOSPC;
+			return -1;
+		}
+
+		total_written += bytes_written;
+
+		/*
+		 * We first need to discard any iovec entities that have been
+		 * fully written.
+		 */
+		while (iovcnt && (size_t)bytes_written >= iov->iov_len) {
+			bytes_written -= iov->iov_len;
+			iov++;
+			iovcnt--;
+		}
+
+		/*
+		 * Finally, we need to adjust the last iovec in case we have
+		 * performed a partial write.
+		 */
+		if (iovcnt && bytes_written) {
+			iov->iov_base = (char *) iov->iov_base + bytes_written;
+			iov->iov_len -= bytes_written;
+		}
+	}
+
+	return total_written;
+}
+
 ssize_t pread_in_full(int fd, void *buf, size_t count, off_t offset)
 {
 	char *p = buf;
diff --git a/wrapper.h b/wrapper.h
index 15ac3bab6e..27519b32d1 100644
--- a/wrapper.h
+++ b/wrapper.h
@@ -47,6 +47,15 @@ ssize_t read_in_full(int fd, void *buf, size_t count);
 ssize_t write_in_full(int fd, const void *buf, size_t count);
 ssize_t pread_in_full(int fd, void *buf, size_t count, off_t offset);
 
+/*
+ * Try to write all iovecs. Returns -1 in case an error occurred with a proper
+ * errno set, the number of bytes written otherwise.
+ *
+ * Note that the iovec will be modified as a result of this call to adjust for
+ * partial writes!
+ */
+ssize_t writev_in_full(int fd, struct iovec *iov, int iovcnt);
+
 static inline ssize_t write_str_in_full(int fd, const char *str)
 {
 	return write_in_full(fd, str, strlen(str));
diff --git a/write-or-die.c b/write-or-die.c
index 01a9a51fa2..5f522fb728 100644
--- a/write-or-die.c
+++ b/write-or-die.c
@@ -96,6 +96,14 @@ void write_or_die(int fd, const void *buf, size_t count)
 	}
 }
 
+void writev_or_die(int fd, struct iovec *iov, int iovlen)
+{
+	if (writev_in_full(fd, iov, iovlen) < 0) {
+		check_pipe(errno);
+		die_errno("writev error");
+	}
+}
+
 void fwrite_or_die(FILE *f, const void *buf, size_t count)
 {
 	if (fwrite(buf, 1, count, f) != count)
diff --git a/write-or-die.h b/write-or-die.h
index 65a5c42a47..ae3d7d88b8 100644
--- a/write-or-die.h
+++ b/write-or-die.h
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ void fprintf_or_die(FILE *, const char *fmt, ...);
 void fwrite_or_die(FILE *f, const void *buf, size_t count);
 void fflush_or_die(FILE *f);
 void write_or_die(int fd, const void *buf, size_t count);
+void writev_or_die(int fd, struct iovec *iov, int iovlen);
 
 /*
  * These values are used to help identify parts of a repository to fsync.

diff --git a/sideband.c b/sideband.c
index ea7c25211e..1ed6614eaf 100644
--- a/sideband.c
+++ b/sideband.c
@@ -264,6 +264,7 @@ void send_sideband(int fd, int band, const char *data, ssize_t sz, int packet_ma
 	const char *p = data;
 
 	while (sz) {
+		struct iovec iov[2];
 		unsigned n;
 		char hdr[5];
 
@@ -273,12 +274,19 @@ void send_sideband(int fd, int band, const char *data, ssize_t sz, int packet_ma
 		if (0 <= band) {
 			xsnprintf(hdr, sizeof(hdr), "%04x", n + 5);
 			hdr[4] = band;
-			write_or_die(fd, hdr, 5);
+			iov[0].iov_base = hdr;
+			iov[0].iov_len = 5;
 		} else {
 			xsnprintf(hdr, sizeof(hdr), "%04x", n + 4);
-			write_or_die(fd, hdr, 4);
+			iov[0].iov_base = hdr;
+			iov[0].iov_len = 4;
 		}
-		write_or_die(fd, p, n);
+
+		iov[1].iov_base = (void *) p;
+		iov[1].iov_len = n;
+
+		writev_or_die(fd, iov, ARRAY_SIZE(iov));
+
 		p += n;
 		sz -= n;
 	}

csum-file.c, csum-file.h

diff --git a/csum-file.c b/csum-file.c
index 6e21e3cac8..a50416247e 100644
--- a/csum-file.c
+++ b/csum-file.c
@@ -161,17 +161,16 @@ struct hashfile *hashfd_check(const struct git_hash_algo *algop,
 	return f;
 }
 
-static struct hashfile *hashfd_internal(const struct git_hash_algo *algop,
-					int fd, const char *name,
-					struct progress *tp,
-					size_t buffer_len)
+struct hashfile *hashfd_ext(const struct git_hash_algo *algop,
+			    int fd, const char *name,
+			    const struct hashfd_options *opts)
 {
 	struct hashfile *f = xmalloc(sizeof(*f));
 	f->fd = fd;
 	f->check_fd = -1;
 	f->offset = 0;
 	f->total = 0;
-	f->tp = tp;
+	f->tp = opts->progress;
 	f->name = name;
 	f->do_crc = 0;
 	f->skip_hash = 0;
@@ -179,8 +178,8 @@ static struct hashfile *hashfd_internal(const struct git_hash_algo *algop,
 	f->algop = unsafe_hash_algo(algop);
 	f->algop->init_fn(&f->ctx);
 
-	f->buffer_len = buffer_len;
-	f->buffer = xmalloc(buffer_len);
+	f->buffer_len = opts->buffer_len ? opts->buffer_len : 128 * 1024;
+	f->buffer = xmalloc(f->buffer_len);
 	f->check_buffer = NULL;
 
 	return f;
@@ -194,7 +193,8 @@ struct hashfile *hashfd(const struct git_hash_algo *algop,
 	 * measure the rate of data passing through this hashfile,
 	 * use a larger buffer size to reduce fsync() calls.
 	 */
-	return hashfd_internal(algop, fd, name, NULL, 128 * 1024);
+	struct hashfd_options opts = { 0 };
+	return hashfd_ext(algop, fd, name, &opts);
 }
 
 struct hashfile *hashfd_throughput(const struct git_hash_algo *algop,
@@ -206,7 +206,11 @@ struct hashfile *hashfd_throughput(const struct git_hash_algo *algop,
 	 * size so the progress indicators arrive at a more
 	 * frequent rate.
 	 */
-	return hashfd_internal(algop, fd, name, tp, 8 * 1024);
+	struct hashfd_options opts = {
+		.progress = tp,
+		.buffer_len = 8 * 1024,
+	};
+	return hashfd_ext(algop, fd, name, &opts);
 }
 
 void hashfile_checkpoint_init(struct hashfile *f,
diff --git a/csum-file.h b/csum-file.h
index 07ae11024a..a03b60120d 100644
--- a/csum-file.h
+++ b/csum-file.h
@@ -45,6 +45,20 @@ int hashfile_truncate(struct hashfile *, struct hashfile_checkpoint *);
 #define CSUM_FSYNC		2
 #define CSUM_HASH_IN_STREAM	4
 
+struct hashfd_options {
+	/*
+	 * Throughput progress that counts the number of bytes that have been
+	 * hashed.
+	 */
+	struct progress *progress;
+
+	/* The length of the buffer that shall be used read read data. */
+	size_t buffer_len;
+};
+
+struct hashfile *hashfd_ext(const struct git_hash_algo *algop,
+			    int fd, const char *name,
+			    const struct hashfd_options *opts);
 struct hashfile *hashfd(const struct git_hash_algo *algop,
 			int fd, const char *name);
 struct hashfile *hashfd_check(const struct git_hash_algo *algop,

builtin/pack-objects.c, csum-file.c, csum-file.h

diff --git a/builtin/pack-objects.c b/builtin/pack-objects.c
index c1ee4d5ed7..f5cb80e870 100644
--- a/builtin/pack-objects.c
+++ b/builtin/pack-objects.c
@@ -1330,11 +1330,22 @@ static void write_pack_file(void)
 		unsigned char hash[GIT_MAX_RAWSZ];
 		char *pack_tmp_name = NULL;
 
-		if (pack_to_stdout)
-			f = hashfd_throughput(the_repository->hash_algo, 1,
-					      "<stdout>", progress_state);
-		else
+		if (pack_to_stdout) {
+			/*
+			 * Since we are expecting to report progress of the
+			 * write into this hashfile, use a smaller buffer
+			 * size so the progress indicators arrive at a more
+			 * frequent rate.
+			 */
+			struct hashfd_options opts = {
+				.progress = progress_state,
+				.buffer_len = 8 * 1024,
+			};
+			f = hashfd_ext(the_repository->hash_algo, 1,
+				       "<stdout>", &opts);
+		} else {
 			f = create_tmp_packfile(the_repository, &pack_tmp_name);
+		}
 
 		offset = write_pack_header(f, nr_remaining);
 
diff --git a/csum-file.c b/csum-file.c
index a50416247e..5dfaca5543 100644
--- a/csum-file.c
+++ b/csum-file.c
@@ -197,22 +197,6 @@ struct hashfile *hashfd(const struct git_hash_algo *algop,
 	return hashfd_ext(algop, fd, name, &opts);
 }
 
-struct hashfile *hashfd_throughput(const struct git_hash_algo *algop,
-				   int fd, const char *name, struct progress *tp)
-{
-	/*
-	 * Since we are expecting to report progress of the
-	 * write into this hashfile, use a smaller buffer
-	 * size so the progress indicators arrive at a more
-	 * frequent rate.
-	 */
-	struct hashfd_options opts = {
-		.progress = tp,
-		.buffer_len = 8 * 1024,
-	};
-	return hashfd_ext(algop, fd, name, &opts);
-}
-
 void hashfile_checkpoint_init(struct hashfile *f,
 			      struct hashfile_checkpoint *checkpoint)
 {
diff --git a/csum-file.h b/csum-file.h
index a03b60120d..01472555c8 100644
--- a/csum-file.h
+++ b/csum-file.h
@@ -63,8 +63,6 @@ struct hashfile *hashfd(const struct git_hash_algo *algop,
 			int fd, const char *name);
 struct hashfile *hashfd_check(const struct git_hash_algo *algop,
 			      const char *name);
-struct hashfile *hashfd_throughput(const struct git_hash_algo *algop,
-				   int fd, const char *name, struct progress *tp);
 
 /*
  * Free the hashfile without flushing its contents to disk. This only

diff --git a/builtin/pack-objects.c b/builtin/pack-objects.c
index f5cb80e870..59876b024d 100644
--- a/builtin/pack-objects.c
+++ b/builtin/pack-objects.c
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@
 #include "promisor-remote.h"
 #include "pack-mtimes.h"
 #include "parse-options.h"
+#include "pkt-line.h"
 #include "blob.h"
 #include "tree.h"
 #include "path-walk.h"
@@ -1332,14 +1333,17 @@ static void write_pack_file(void)
 
 		if (pack_to_stdout) {
 			/*
-			 * Since we are expecting to report progress of the
-			 * write into this hashfile, use a smaller buffer
-			 * size so the progress indicators arrive at a more
-			 * frequent rate.
+			 * This command is most often invoked via
+			 * git-upload-pack(1), which will typically chunk data
+			 * into pktlines. As such, we use the maximum data
+			 * length of them as buffer length.
+			 *
+			 * Note that we need to subtract one though to
+			 * accomodate for the sideband byte.
 			 */
 			struct hashfd_options opts = {
 				.progress = progress_state,
-				.buffer_len = 8 * 1024,
+				.buffer_len = LARGE_PACKET_DATA_MAX - 1,
 			};
 			f = hashfd_ext(the_repository->hash_algo, 1,
 				       "<stdout>", &opts);