[gentoo-user] Portage, git and shallow cloning

[Davyd McColl]

I'm not sure if there's a better place to put this, so please feel free to
tell me I should report it elsewhere (:

After the recent GitHub fun, I changed from using the GitHub git source to
git://anongit.gentoo.org/repo/sync/gentoo.git, as suggested by some on this
mailing list. I completely nuked /usr/portage/* and set off with an `emerge
--sync`, which looked like it was going to take ages and clone about a gig.
Reading https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Project:Portage/Sync, I figured there
was nothing much I could do about it, since the page speaks of the
`sync-depth` config option and states that 1 is "shallow clone, only
current state (*default if option is absent*)" (emphasis mine).
After multiple failures to clone (other side hangs up after a few minutes
-- I only have a 4mbps line, maxing out at around 450Kb/s), I thought I'd
try explicitly setting `sync-depth` in my repo config and found:

1) `sync-depth` has been deprecated (should now use `clone-depth`)
2) with the option missing, portage was fetching the entire history --
after adding the option (and nuking /usr/portage/* again), a new clone
happened in short order, bringing down only around 65Mb (according to git)

So I'd like to ask how to assist in rectifying the above:
1) the docs need to be updated to refer to `clone-depth`
2) I believe that the original intent of defaulting to a shallow clone was
a good idea -- perhaps that can be investigated. If the intent has changed
for some reason, the docs should be updated to reflect the change.

Thanks
-d

-- 
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If you say that getting the money is the most important thing
You will spend your life completely wasting your time
You will be doing things you don't like doing
In order to go on living
That is, to go on doing things you don't like doing

Which is stupid.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gXTZM_uPMY

*Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur. *