Shallow cloning downloads only recent commits instead of entire repository history, dramatically reducing clone time and disk space for large repositories. As the creator of CoreUI, a widely used open-source UI library, I’ve optimized Git workflows for large codebases throughout my 25 years of development experience. The most practical approach is using git clone –depth parameter to limit history depth, ideal for CI/CD pipelines and quick repository access. This method reduces network bandwidth consumption, speeds up clones by up to 10x for large repositories, and minimizes local storage requirements.