Git 2.38 Introduces Scalar: Boosting Performance for Massive Repositories

Git 2.38 has been released, with the most notable change being the integration of Microsoft’s repository management tool Scalar, designed to handle massive Git repositories.

Introduce the massive Git repository management tool Scalar

Scalar is a .NET Core application originally written in C# and later rewritten in C. It optimizes Git command performance by applying recommended configuration values and running background maintenance, accelerating Git operations regardless of the hosting service. Microsoft states that registering the largest repositories with Scalar yields immediate speed improvements.

Git has continuously improved handling of large repositories, and Scalar adds a pre‑configured set of features such as an internal file‑system watcher, multi‑pack index, commit graph, background maintenance, partial clone, and sparse checkout.

Scalar, initially a Microsoft‑led open‑source project intended for contribution to Git, is now part of the mainline Git 2.38 codebase.

Git 2.38 also adds a new git rebase option --update-refs, which updates dependent branches during a rebase.

For more details, see the official release announcement: https://github.blog/2022-10-03-highlights-from-git-2-38/