Assuming it's correct, I think this answer explains it well: https://stackoverflow.com/a/31996121/283879 https://stackoverflow.com/a/31996121/283879 Basically,

Assuming it's correct, I think this answer explains it well: https://stackoverflow.com/a/31996121/283879 https://stackoverflow.com/a/31996121/283879 Basically, yes it may write snapshots per-file (never per-commit) locally but there is a separate routine to transparently repack the whole thing with deltas.