Problem: Full repo clone was ~1.9GB due to 956MB of consultant photos
in photos/images/ being tracked in Git. This caused significant
slowdown at the start of every session.
Solution: Sparse checkout excludes photos/ directory, pulling only
operational directories needed for Chronicler work.
Performance improvement:
- Before: ~1.9GB clone, ~967MB .git
- After: ~39MB clone, ~18MB .git
- Reduction: 98% smaller
Directories included in sparse checkout:
docs/ automation/ deployments/ branding/ management/ nodes/ web/
Files updated with new clone commands:
- SESSION-HANDOFF-PROTOCOL.md (added perf note + correct commands)
- NEXT-SESSION-PROMPT.md
- SESSION-START-PROMPT-TEMPLATE.md
- CUSTOM-PROMPT-FOR-SESSIONS.md
- docs/reference/PROJECT-INSTRUCTIONS.md
Long-term recommendation: Migrate photos/ to NextCloud or separate
assets repo to permanently remove binaries from operations manual.
Signed-off-by: The Chronicler #28
852a31d7a2