git ≥ 2.37: sparse-checkout Cone Mode Stable and Default
git ≥ 2.37+sparse-checkout cone mode
`git sparse-checkout` was introduced in git 2.25.0 but cone mode (much faster for monorepos) became the default behavior in git 2.37.0. Initialize with `git sparse-checkout init` (cone mode is default in 2.37+), then add directories with `git sparse-checkout add `. Cone mode restricts checkout to directory boundaries and is significantly faster than arbitrary glob patterns for large repos.
Required Flags / Config
--cone (for init; default in git 2.37+, not needed explicitly)