Summary

Repository slowness in cloning, pulling, or general UI performance issues can be attributed to the number of tags and empty directories in the repository's Refs folder. When the number of tags and empty directories exceeds a certain threshold, it can cause slowness and affect page loading times, leading to timeouts. In this article, we will discuss how to diagnose and solve this issue.

Diagnosis

To diagnose the cause of the slowness, use the following commands:

• git tag | wc -l: This command shows the number of tags in the repository. Anything over 3K tags will cause slowness in page loading, and the higher the number, the more likely it will cause a timeout.

• time find refs | wc -l: This command shows the number of empty directories in the Refs folder and the time it takes to find them. Anything over 3K refs will cause slowness, and the normal load time should be under 1s. If it takes longer than 1s, it is most likely the cause of the slowness.

Cause

The cause of the slowness is the number of tags and empty directories in the repository's Refs folder. When the number of tags and empty directories exceeds 3 thousand, it can cause slowness and affect page loading times, leading to timeouts.

Solution

To solve the issue, either reduce the number of tags and empty directories in the repository's Refs folder or clone the repository and push it to a new repository. Repository slowness in cloning, pulling, or general UI performance issues can be caused by the number of tags and empty directories in the repository's Refs folder. By following the instructions presented here, you can also improve the performance of your Git repositories.