SearchMyFiles VS git-sizer

• Comprehensive Search
  SearchMyFiles offers detailed search options, allowing you to find files based on various criteria like wildcards, file size, attributes, content, and modified/created/accessed time.
• Portable
  SearchMyFiles is a portable application, which means it does not require installation and can be run from a USB drive or other external storage devices.
• Freeware
  The software is completely free to use, with no hidden costs or premium features locked behind a paywall.
• Advanced Duplicate Search
  It provides an advanced duplicate search feature, allowing users to find and manage duplicate files effectively.
• Low System Requirements
  The application is lightweight and requires minimal system resources, making it suitable for use on older or less powerful computers.
• No Background Processes
  SearchMyFiles does not run any background processes when it's not actively being used, which helps conserve system resources.

Possible disadvantages

• User Interface
  The user interface is quite basic and may not be as intuitive or visually appealing as some modern software, potentially making it harder for less technical users to navigate.
• No Real-Time Indexing
  Unlike some other search tools, SearchMyFiles does not offer real-time indexing, which means searches may take longer to complete and results are not instantly updated.
• Limited Support
  As a freeware utility, SearchMyFiles does not come with formal customer support, which may be a drawback for users who need assistance.
• Manual Updates
  Users have to manually check for and download updates from the NirSoft website, rather than having an automated update feature.
• Windows Only
  SearchMyFiles is only available for Windows operating systems, which excludes users on macOS or Linux platforms.
• No Integration with Other Tools
  The software lacks integration with other productivity tools or cloud services, limiting its functionality for users who require such features.

• Comprehensive Repository Analysis
  git-sizer analyzes many different dimensions of a Git repository including commit count, tree size, blob size, history depth, and reference counts, providing a holistic view of repository health and potential scaling issues.
• Easy to Use
  The tool is simple to run with minimal setup—just execute it within a git repository—and it produces clear, human-readable output that highlights potential problem areas without requiring complex configuration.
• Identifies Performance Bottlenecks
  It helps identify specific issues that could degrade Git performance, such as excessively large blobs, deep history, large trees, or too many references, which is valuable before migrating or scaling repositories.
• Open Source and Maintained by GitHub
  Being an official GitHub project, it benefits from credibility, community trust, and ongoing maintenance, and it is well documented with clear explanations of what each metric means.
• Useful for Pre-Migration Checks
  It's particularly helpful for teams migrating repositories to new platforms or consolidating repos, as it flags potential issues that could cause problems during migration or with hosting providers' limits.

Possible disadvantages

• No Automatic Remediation
  git-sizer only identifies and reports issues but does not offer any built-in tools or automated processes to fix problems like large blobs or excessive history depth—users must use separate tools like BFG Repo-Cleaner or git-filter-repo.
• Output Can Be Overwhelming for Beginners
  While detailed, the output includes many metrics and threshold levels that may be confusing for users unfamiliar with Git internals, requiring some learning curve to fully interpret results.
• Limited to Local Analysis
  The tool analyzes a local clone of the repository, so it requires users to have a full local copy of the repo (or at least enough history) to get accurate results, which can be time-consuming for very large repositories.
• No Real-Time Monitoring
  It functions as a one-time analysis tool rather than providing continuous or real-time monitoring of repository health, requiring manual reruns to track changes over time.
• Command-Line Only Interface
  The tool lacks a graphical user interface, which may be less accessible for users who prefer visual dashboards or are less comfortable with command-line tools.

Tracking SearchMyFiles since Mar 2021.

• how to keep github repos small?

  Also there’s a cool project from GitHub you can use to help understand the size of git’s objects in your git repo https://github.com/github/git-sizer. This might help you determine what the best cloning strategy could be. Source: almost 5 years ago