How to Check GitHub Repo Size Before Git Clone

You can check the size of a GitHub repository before git clone by querying the GitHub API endpoint /repos/:owner/:repo, which returns a size field in kilobytes representing the full repo including history. Just run a simple curl command like curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/torvalds/linux | grep '"size"' to see the Linux kernel repo clocks in at over 1.5 GB—handy for avoiding surprises on slow connections or limited storage. This works for public repos out of the box, but private ones need a token.

Contents

• Why Check GitHub Repository Size Before Git Clone
• Using GitHub API to Get Repository Size
• Curl and Command-Line Examples
• Handling Private Repositories and Authentication
• Limitations of GitHub Repository Size Reporting
• Alternatives: GitHub CLI and Browser Tools
• Sources
• Conclusion

Why Check GitHub Repository Size Before Git Clone

Ever fired off a git clone on a massive repo only to watch your disk fill up or your bandwidth vanish? That’s where peeking at the GitHub repository size upfront saves headaches. Large projects—like machine learning datasets or monorepos—can balloon to gigabytes with history, and knowing ahead lets you opt for shallow clones (git clone --depth 1) or bail entirely.

Storage matters too. Developers on laptops or CI servers often hit limits; a quick API check tells you if that “quick clone” will eat 10 GB or just 50 MB. Plus, with remote repositories scattered across GitHub, this habit scales your workflow without guesswork.

Using GitHub API to Get Repository Size

The GitHub API is your go-to for this—reliable, free for public repos, and baked into their REST docs. Hit GET /repos/OWNER/REPO (e.g., https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World), and parse the JSON response for the size key. It’s in kilobytes, covering the entire bare repo as stored on GitHub servers.

Here’s a basic example in JavaScript—fetch it right in your browser console:

fetch('https://api.github.com/repos/torvalds/linux')
 .then(res => res.json())
 .then(data => console.log(`${data.size / 1024 / 1024} MB`));

That spits out the size in megabytes. Clean, no installs needed. The GitHub API documentation spells out the full response schema, including size alongside stars, forks, and languages.

Curl and Command-Line Examples

Command line? Curl’s perfect for one-offs. Try this for the Git repo:

curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/git/git | grep '"size"' | tr -d '," '

Output: "size":124283 KB. Pipe to jq for pretty formatting: curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/git/git | jq '.size'. Want human-readable? Add numfmt --to=iec:

curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/git/git | jq '.size' | numfmt --to=iec

~121 MiB. Users on Stack Overflow swear by these snippets—they’re battle-tested. For scripting, wrap it in a bash function:

get_repo_size() {
 curl -s "https://api.github.com/repos/$1" | jq '.size'
}
get_repo_size torvalds/linux

Boom—size before any git clone drama.

Handling Private Repositories and Authentication

Public repos are easy, but private GitHub repositories? You’ll hit rate limits or 404s without auth. Grab a Personal Access Token from GitHub settings (under Developer settings > Tokens > Fine-grained tokens; grant repo scope).

Then: curl -H "Authorization: token YOUR_TOKEN" https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/PRIVATE-REPO | jq '.size'.

Owners get extras: Visit https://github.com/settings/repositories for a dashboard listing all your repos’ sizes—no API needed. For orgs, list via /orgs/ORG/repos?per_page=100 with token auth.

Pro tip: Set GITHUB_TOKEN env var for scripts. Tools like this bash gist automate it fully, handling URLs and tokens seamlessly.

Limitations of GitHub Repository Size Reporting

Don’t treat the API size as gospel—it approximates the bare repo on GitHub’s side. Git alternates (shared objects across repos) mean the reported size might understate your local clone by 2-10x. One dev cleaned a repo with BFG Repo-Cleaner, saw API drop to 419 MB, but actual clone? 67 MB—caching lag at play, per this GitHub discussion.

Shallow history skews it too; full clones include branches/tags you might skip. Rate limits cap unauth requests at 60/hour—auth bumps to 5k. And massive repos (>100 GB)? GitHub nudges LFS or splits.

Test clones for truth, especially for data-heavy repos.

Alternatives: GitHub CLI and Browser Tools

No curl? Install gh CLI: gh repo view OWNER/REPO --json size. Parses JSON nicely. Browser extensions like “GitHub Repo Size” fetch it via API under the hood.

Git itself? git ls-remote --refs https://github.com/OWNER/REPO.git counts objects loosely, but no byte size. For rough estimates: git clone --no-checkout --depth 1 then du -sh .git, but that’s half-cloning already.

Web? Repo settings page for yours, or third-party like RepoSense for insights. Still, API wins for speed.

Sources

1. How can I see the size of a GitHub repository before cloning it? — Stack Overflow thread with curl examples and API details: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/8646517/how-can-i-see-the-size-of-a-github-repository-before-cloning-it
2. Get a repository — Official GitHub REST API docs for /repos endpoint and size field: https://docs.github.com/en/rest/repos/repos#get-a-repository
3. Get GitHub repo size — Bash gist with functions for size fetching via API: https://gist.github.com/dingzeyuli/f07c126b74371adba4b7dbe181cb57d2
4. Repo size does not match actual clone size — GitHub community discussion on size discrepancies: https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/23585

Conclusion

Checking GitHub repository size via API before git clone is straightforward and essential for efficient workflows—curl it, script it, or CLI it. Mind the approximations from alternates and test big ones, but you’ll dodge most disk disasters. Start with public repos today; token up for privates. Your future self (and hard drive) will thank you.