From: "Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget" <gitgitgadget@gmail.com>
To: git@vger.kernel.org
Cc: Phillip Wood <phillip.wood123@gmail.com>,
"D. Ben Knoble" <ben.knoble@gmail.com>,
Harald Nordgren <haraldnordgren@gmail.com>,
Harald Nordgren <haraldnordgren@gmail.com>
Subject: [PATCH v5 4/4] remote: default to --limited-fetch in a shallow repository
Date: Fri, 02 Oct 2026 07:13:18 +0000 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <8c2a144eb7d9010ce1239d92aadd1288108921c3.1790925198.git.gitgitgadget@gmail.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <pull.2412.v5.git.git.1790925198.gitgitgadget@gmail.com>
From: Harald Nordgren <haraldnordgren@gmail.com>
Adding a second remote to a shallow, single-branch clone used to
still fetch every branch that remote has, since "git remote add"
always set up a wildcard remote.<name>.fetch refspec regardless of
how shallow the repository already was. That defeats the purpose of
having cloned shallow and single-branch in the first place, and can
make a plain "git fetch" on that remote hang or take a very long
time on a repository with many branches.
Turn --limited-fetch on by default when the repository is already
shallow and neither -t/--track nor --mirror was given, so that
adding a remote there does not by itself commit to following every
branch it has. --no-limited-fetch keeps the previous behavior for
whoever wants it.
Signed-off-by: Harald Nordgren <haraldnordgren@gmail.com>
---
Documentation/git-remote.adoc | 8 ++++-
builtin/remote.c | 5 ++-
t/t5505-remote.sh | 60 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
3 files changed, 71 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
diff --git a/Documentation/git-remote.adoc b/Documentation/git-remote.adoc
index 4255f8b3e6..80f8a4a183 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-remote.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/git-remote.adoc
@@ -52,6 +52,11 @@ Add a remote named _<name>_ for the repository at
_<URL>_. The command `git fetch <name>` can then be used to create and
update remote-tracking branches `<name>/<branch>`.
+
+If the repository is already a shallow repository (see linkgit:git-clone[1]
+`--depth`) and neither `-t`, `--mirror` nor `--no-limited-fetch` is given,
+`--limited-fetch` is turned on by default, so that `git fetch <name>` does
+not need to negotiate history for every branch the remote has.
++
With `-f` option, `git fetch <name>` is run immediately after
the remote information is set up.
+
@@ -74,7 +79,8 @@ With `--limited-fetch` option, instead of a `remote.<name>.fetch` refspec
that tracks all branches, `remote.<name>.refmap` is set up so that a
refspec-less `git fetch <name>` only fetches branches our local branches
are built on. See the `--refmap` entry in linkgit:git-fetch[1] for
-details.
+details. `--no-limited-fetch` explicitly disables this, overriding the
+shallow-repository default described above.
+
With `-m <master>` option, a symbolic-ref `refs/remotes/<name>/HEAD` is set
up to point at remote's _<master>_ branch. See also the set-head command.
diff --git a/builtin/remote.c b/builtin/remote.c
index f036dd5d6f..0cf1126976 100644
--- a/builtin/remote.c
+++ b/builtin/remote.c
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
#include "rebase.h"
#include "refs.h"
#include "refspec.h"
+#include "shallow.h"
#include "odb.h"
#include "strvec.h"
#include "commit-reach.h"
@@ -238,7 +239,9 @@ static int add(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix,
if (!mirror || mirror & MIRROR_FETCH) {
int use_limited_fetch = mirror == MIRROR_NONE && track.nr == 0 &&
- limited_fetch == 1;
+ (limited_fetch == 1 ||
+ (limited_fetch == -1 &&
+ is_repository_shallow(the_repository)));
strbuf_reset(&buf);
if (use_limited_fetch) {
diff --git a/t/t5505-remote.sh b/t/t5505-remote.sh
index 0168d5abfe..f3b5905e9e 100755
--- a/t/t5505-remote.sh
+++ b/t/t5505-remote.sh
@@ -137,6 +137,66 @@ test_expect_success 'filters are listed by git remote -v only' '
test_grep ! "\[blob:none\]" out
'
+test_expect_success 'add remote -t keeps an explicit refspec in a shallow repository' '
+ test_when_finished "rm -rf shallow-add" &&
+ git clone --no-local --depth=1 --branch main --single-branch \
+ one shallow-add &&
+ (
+ cd shallow-add &&
+ git remote add -t main upstream ../two &&
+ test_cmp_config "+refs/heads/main:refs/remotes/upstream/main" \
+ remote.upstream.fetch
+ )
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'add remote keeps the wildcard refspec in a full repository' '
+ test_when_finished "rm -rf full-add" &&
+ git clone --no-local one full-add &&
+ (
+ cd full-add &&
+ git remote add upstream ../two &&
+ test_cmp_config "+refs/heads/*:refs/remotes/upstream/*" \
+ remote.upstream.fetch
+ )
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'a remote added in a shallow repository defaults to --limited-fetch' '
+ test_when_finished "rm -rf shallow-add" &&
+ git clone --no-local --depth=1 --branch main --single-branch \
+ one shallow-add &&
+ (
+ cd shallow-add &&
+ git remote add upstream ../two &&
+ test_cmp_config "+refs/heads/*:refs/remotes/upstream/*" \
+ remote.upstream.refmap &&
+ test_must_fail git config get remote.upstream.fetch &&
+ git fetch upstream main &&
+ git branch --set-upstream-to=upstream/main &&
+ test_cmp_config upstream branch.main.remote &&
+ test_cmp_config refs/heads/main branch.main.merge &&
+ git fetch upstream &&
+ git for-each-ref --format="%(refname)" refs/remotes/upstream >actual &&
+ cat >expect <<-\EOF &&
+ refs/remotes/upstream/HEAD
+ refs/remotes/upstream/main
+ EOF
+ test_cmp expect actual
+ )
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--no-limited-fetch overrides the shallow-repository default' '
+ test_when_finished "rm -rf shallow-add" &&
+ git clone --no-local --depth=1 --branch main --single-branch \
+ one shallow-add &&
+ (
+ cd shallow-add &&
+ git remote add --no-limited-fetch upstream ../two &&
+ test_cmp_config "+refs/heads/*:refs/remotes/upstream/*" \
+ remote.upstream.fetch &&
+ test_must_fail git config get remote.upstream.refmap
+ )
+'
+
test_expect_success '--limited-fetch works in a full repository too' '
test_when_finished "rm -rf full-add" &&
git clone --no-local one full-add &&
--
gitgitgadget
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-10-02 7:13 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 55+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-09-19 14:47 [PATCH] fetch: add config to avoid fetching every branch in shallow repo Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget
2026-09-21 13:28 ` Phillip Wood
2026-09-21 21:45 ` Harald Nordgren
2026-09-22 13:00 ` Harald Nordgren
2026-09-22 14:53 ` Phillip Wood
2026-09-22 15:37 ` Harald Nordgren
2026-09-23 15:14 ` Phillip Wood
2026-09-22 17:11 ` Junio C Hamano
2026-09-22 21:40 ` Harald Nordgren
2026-09-23 15:19 ` Phillip Wood
2026-09-23 15:34 ` Junio C Hamano
2026-09-23 16:55 ` D. Ben Knoble
2026-09-23 19:50 ` Junio C Hamano
2026-09-24 17:10 ` D. Ben Knoble
2026-09-24 18:02 ` Junio C Hamano
2026-09-23 20:35 ` [PATCH v2] fetch: avoid fetching every branch of a new remote in a " Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget
2026-09-23 21:38 ` Junio C Hamano
2026-09-25 10:49 ` [PATCH v3 0/4] " Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget
2026-09-25 10:49 ` [PATCH v3 1/4] fetch: add remote.<name>.refmap Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget
2026-09-25 22:38 ` Junio C Hamano
2026-09-25 10:50 ` [PATCH v3 2/4] fetch: infer branches to fetch from a refmap-only remote Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget
2026-09-25 23:26 ` Junio C Hamano
2026-09-25 10:50 ` [PATCH v3 3/4] remote: add "git remote add --limited-fetch" Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget
2026-09-25 10:50 ` [PATCH v3 4/4] remote: default to --limited-fetch in a shallow repository Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget
2026-09-29 9:19 ` [PATCH v4 0/4] fetch: avoid fetching every branch of a new remote in a shallow repo Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget
2026-09-29 9:19 ` [PATCH v4 1/4] fetch: add remote.<name>.refmap Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget
2026-09-29 9:19 ` [PATCH v4 2/4] fetch: infer branches to fetch from a refmap-only remote Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget
2026-09-29 9:27 ` Harald Nordgren
2026-09-29 20:17 ` Junio C Hamano
2026-09-29 9:19 ` [PATCH v4 3/4] remote: add "git remote add --limited-fetch" Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget
2026-09-29 9:19 ` [PATCH v4 4/4] remote: default to --limited-fetch in a shallow repository Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget
2026-09-29 19:36 ` [PATCH v4 0/4] fetch: avoid fetching every branch of a new remote in a shallow repo Junio C Hamano
2026-10-02 7:13 ` [PATCH v5 " Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget
2026-10-02 7:13 ` [PATCH v5 1/4] fetch: add remote.<name>.refmap Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget
2026-10-02 7:13 ` [PATCH v5 2/4] fetch: infer branches to fetch from a refmap-only remote Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget
2026-10-02 7:13 ` [PATCH v5 3/4] remote: add "git remote add --limited-fetch" Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget
2026-10-02 16:28 ` Junio C Hamano
2026-10-02 7:13 ` Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget [this message]
2026-10-04 8:31 ` [PATCH v6 0/4] fetch: avoid fetching every branch of a new remote in a shallow repo Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget
2026-10-04 8:31 ` [PATCH v6 1/4] fetch: add remote.<name>.refmap Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget
2026-10-04 8:31 ` [PATCH v6 2/4] fetch: infer branches to fetch from a refmap-only remote Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget
2026-10-04 8:31 ` [PATCH v6 3/4] remote: add "git remote add --limited-fetch" Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget
2026-10-04 8:31 ` [PATCH v6 4/4] remote: default to --limited-fetch in a shallow repository Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget
2026-10-04 17:17 ` [PATCH v6 0/4] fetch: avoid fetching every branch of a new remote in a shallow repo Junio C Hamano
2026-10-04 19:51 ` Harald Nordgren
2026-10-05 12:17 ` Junio C Hamano
2026-10-05 18:09 ` Harald Nordgren
2026-10-07 21:56 ` [PATCH v7 " Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget
2026-10-07 21:56 ` [PATCH v7 1/4] fetch: add remote.<name>.refmap Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget
2026-10-07 21:56 ` [PATCH v7 2/4] fetch: infer branches to fetch from a refmap-only remote Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget
2026-10-08 16:59 ` Junio C Hamano
2026-10-09 7:05 ` Harald Nordgren
2026-10-09 8:09 ` Harald Nordgren
2026-10-07 21:56 ` [PATCH v7 3/4] remote: add "git remote add --limited-fetch" Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget
2026-10-07 21:56 ` [PATCH v7 4/4] remote: default to --limited-fetch in a shallow repository Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget
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