The tool uses partial cloning to reduce data usage (and potentially forge server load) by skipping blobs/blob contents entirely.

Additionally, aggressive caching is used to ensure that a repo that has been analyzed before does not need to get fully cloned again. Instead, the tool remembers the precise point in time (+commit hash) of the most up-to-date commit to the repo and uses this knowledge to only partially clone from that point onward the next time analysis is requested.