Downloading Only a Specific Folder from GitHub: Sparse Checkout

Introduction#

In some projects, instead of downloading the entire repository on GitHub, you may need only a specific folder. For example, you might want to take only design files from a large project. In this guide, I'll show you step by step how to do this with the Git Sparse Checkout method ⚡

At the end of this guide:

• You'll be able to download only the folder you want,
• You'll save time and disk space by getting rid of unnecessary files,
• You'll be able to easily apply in Arch Linux and other Linux distributions.

What is Sparse Checkout?#

Git Sparse Checkout is a feature that allows you to pull only specific files or folders from a Git repository instead of the entire repository.

Advantages#

• Reduces download time in large repositories,
• Saves disk space,
• You don't have to deal with unnecessary files.

Step by Step Implementation#

1️⃣ Create a New Folder and Initialize Git#

mkdir pico-v2 && cd pico-v2
git init

2️⃣ Add Remote Repository#

git remote add origin https://github.com/picocss/examples.git

3️⃣ Enable Sparse Checkout#

git config core.sparseCheckout true

4️⃣ Specify the Folder You Want to Download#

echo "v2-sass-customized-design-system/" >> .git/info/sparse-checkout

5️⃣ Download Only the Relevant Folder#

git pull origin master

Result#

Now only the folder you need has been downloaded:

pico-v2/v2-sass-customized-design-system/

Summary#

• You can pull only specific folders without downloading the entire GitHub repository.
• Sparse checkout saves time and disk in large projects.
• Can be easily applied on Linux ⚡

Resources#

• GitHub Repository
• Git Sparse Checkout Documentation

This feature exists in GitLab UI, why doesn't GitHub UI have it? 🤔