- **Familiar interface:** The `sparo` command-line interface (CLI) wrapper offers **better defaults** and **performance suggestions** without altering the familiar `git` syntax. (The native `git` CLI is also supported.)
- **A proven solution:** Git provides [quite a lot of ingredients](./pages/reference/git_optimization.md) for optimizing very large repos; Sparo is your recipe for combining these features intelligently.
- **Simplified sparse checkout:** Work with sparse checkout [profiles](./pages/guide/sparo_profiles.md) instead of confusing "cones" and globs
- **Frontend integration:** Sparo leverages [Rush](https://rushjs.io/) and [PNPM](https://pnpm.io/) workspace configurations, including the ability to automatically checkout project dependencies
- **Dual workflows:** The `sparo-ci` tool implements a specialized checkout model optimized for continuous integration (CI) pipelines
- **Extra safeguards**: Avoid common Git mistakes such as checkouts with staged files outside the active view
- **Go beyond Git hooks:** Optionally collect anonymized Git timing metrics in your monorepo, enabling your build team to set data-driven goals for _local_ developer experience (not just CI!)
_(Metrics are transmitted to your own service and are not accessible by any other party.)_
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## Quick demo
Try out Sparo in 5 easy steps:
1. Ensure you are using the latest Git version. For macOS, we recommend to use [brew install git](https://git-scm.com/download/mac). For other operating systems, see the [Git documentation](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Getting-Started-Installing-Git) for instructions.
2. Clone your [RushJS](https://rushjs.io/) monorepo:
> 💡 Support for PNPM and Yarn workspaces is planned but not implemented yet. Contributions welcome!
3. Define a [Sparo profile](./pages/configs/profile_json.md) describing the subset of repository folders for Git sparse checkout. Here is a basic example:
**common/sparo-profiles/my-team.json**
```json
{
"selections": [
{
"selector": "--to",
"argument": "my-rush-project"
}
]
}
```
The `--to` [project selector](https://rushjs.io/pages/developer/selecting_subsets/#--to) instructs Sparo to checkout all dependencies in the workspace that are required to build `my-rush-project`.
👉 _If you're demoing **azure-sdk-for-js**, replace `my-rush-project` with `@azure/arm-commerce`._
4. Check out your Sparo profile:
```shell
sparo checkout --profile my-team
```
5. For everyday work, consider choosing [mirrored subcommands](./pages/commands/overview.md) such as `sparo revert` instead of `git revert`. The Sparo wrapper provides (1) better defaults, (2) suggestions for better performance, and (3) optional anonymized performance metrics.
