VFS for Git

The Virtual Filesystem for Git (formerly GVFS) is an open source system that enables Git to operate at enterprise-scale. It makes using and managing massive Git repositories possible. VFS for Git virtualizes the filesystem beneath your Git repository so that Git tools see what appears to be a normal repository when, in fact, the files are not actually present on disk. VFS for Git only downloads files as they are needed. VFS for Git also manages Git's internal state so that it only considers the files you have accessed, instead of having to examine every file in the repository. This ensures that operations like status and checkout are as fast as possible. Git struggles to handle enterprise-scale repositories. Operations like cloning will slow to a crawl when you have millions of files in a repository, and even something as simple as getting your repository status will leave you waiting.