perf: skip untracked file enumeration when staging hunks of tracked files

When staging hunks in the staging panel, lazygit refreshes the files
list by running git status --untracked-files=all. In large repos (e.g.
275k files) this directory walk dominates the refresh time, causing
multi-second delays after each staging operation.

Since staging hunks of a tracked file cannot change the set of
untracked files, we can safely skip their enumeration by using
--untracked-files=no and preserving the untracked files from the
previous model state.

The optimization is only applied when the file being staged is tracked.
Staging an untracked file (status ??) still triggers a full refresh to
correctly capture the ?? to AM transition.

Fixes #5455

Author: renezander030

pkg/commands/git_commands/file_loader.go

@@ -36,16 +36,25 @@ type GetStatusFileOptions struct {
 	// This is useful for users with bare repos for dotfiles who default to hiding untracked files,
 	// but want to occasionally see them to `git add` a new file.
 	ForceShowUntracked bool
+	// If true, pass --untracked-files=no to skip enumerating untracked files.
+	// This is a performance optimization for refreshes that only affect tracked
+	// files, avoiding a costly directory walk in large repos.
+	NoUntracked bool
 }
 
 func (self *FileLoader) GetStatusFiles(opts GetStatusFileOptions) []*models.File {
-	// check if config wants us ignoring untracked files
-	untrackedFilesSetting := self.config.GetShowUntrackedFiles()
-
-	if opts.ForceShowUntracked || untrackedFilesSetting == "" {
-		untrackedFilesSetting = "all"
+	var untrackedFilesArg string
+	if opts.NoUntracked {
+		untrackedFilesArg = "--untracked-files=no"
+	} else {
+		// check if config wants us ignoring untracked files
+		untrackedFilesSetting := self.config.GetShowUntrackedFiles()
+
+		if opts.ForceShowUntracked || untrackedFilesSetting == "" {
+			untrackedFilesSetting = "all"
+		}
+		untrackedFilesArg = fmt.Sprintf("--untracked-files=%s", untrackedFilesSetting)
 	}
-	untrackedFilesArg := fmt.Sprintf("--untracked-files=%s", untrackedFilesSetting)
 
 	statuses, err := self.gitStatus(GitStatusOptions{NoRenames: opts.NoRenames, UntrackedFilesArg: untrackedFilesArg})
 	if err != nil {

pkg/gui/controllers/helpers/refresh_helper.go

@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ func (self *RefreshHelper) Refresh(options types.RefreshOptions) {
 		if scopeSet.Includes(types.FILES) || scopeSet.Includes(types.SUBMODULES) {
 			fileWg.Add(1)
 			refresh("files", func() {
-				_ = self.refreshFilesAndSubmodules()
+				_ = self.refreshFilesAndSubmodules(options.KeepUntrackedFiles)
 				fileWg.Done()
 			})
 		}
@@ -504,7 +504,7 @@ func (self *RefreshHelper) refreshBranches(refreshWorktrees bool, keepBranchSele
 	self.refreshStatus()
 }
 
-func (self *RefreshHelper) refreshFilesAndSubmodules() error {
+func (self *RefreshHelper) refreshFilesAndSubmodules(keepUntrackedFiles bool) error {
 	self.c.Mutexes().RefreshingFilesMutex.Lock()
 	self.c.State().SetIsRefreshingFiles(true)
 	defer func() {
@@ -516,7 +516,7 @@ func (self *RefreshHelper) refreshFilesAndSubmodules() error {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	if err := self.refreshStateFiles(); err != nil {
+	if err := self.refreshStateFiles(keepUntrackedFiles); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
@@ -529,7 +529,7 @@ func (self *RefreshHelper) refreshFilesAndSubmodules() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (self *RefreshHelper) refreshStateFiles() error {
+func (self *RefreshHelper) refreshStateFiles(keepUntrackedFiles bool) error {
 	fileTreeViewModel := self.c.Contexts().Files.FileTreeViewModel
 
 	prevConflictFileCount := 0
@@ -564,11 +564,28 @@ func (self *RefreshHelper) refreshStateFiles() error {
 		}
 	}
 
+	// When keepUntrackedFiles is true, we skip enumerating untracked files
+	// in git status (avoiding a costly directory walk in large repos) and
+	// preserve the untracked files from the previous model state instead.
+	var previousUntrackedFiles []*models.File
+	if keepUntrackedFiles {
+		for _, file := range self.c.Model().Files {
+			if !file.Tracked {
+				previousUntrackedFiles = append(previousUntrackedFiles, file)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
 	files := self.c.Git().Loaders.FileLoader.
 		GetStatusFiles(git_commands.GetStatusFileOptions{
-			ForceShowUntracked: self.c.Contexts().Files.ForceShowUntracked(),
+			ForceShowUntracked: !keepUntrackedFiles && self.c.Contexts().Files.ForceShowUntracked(),
+			NoUntracked:        keepUntrackedFiles,
 		})
 
+	if keepUntrackedFiles {
+		files = append(files, previousUntrackedFiles...)
+	}
+
 	conflictFileCount := 0
 	for _, file := range files {
 		if file.HasMergeConflicts {

pkg/gui/controllers/staging_controller.go

@@ -226,11 +226,19 @@ func (self *StagingController) DiscardSelection() error {
 }
 
 func (self *StagingController) applySelectionAndRefresh(reverse bool) error {
+	// Check if the file is tracked before applying, so we can optimize the
+	// refresh by skipping untracked file enumeration in large repos.
+	file := self.c.Contexts().Files.FileTreeViewModel.GetSelectedFile()
+	isTracked := file != nil && file.Tracked
+
 	if err := self.applySelection(reverse); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	self.c.Refresh(types.RefreshOptions{Scope: []types.RefreshableView{types.FILES, types.STAGING}})
+	self.c.Refresh(types.RefreshOptions{
+		Scope:              []types.RefreshableView{types.FILES, types.STAGING},
+		KeepUntrackedFiles: isTracked,
+	})
 	return nil
 }
 
@@ -281,11 +289,17 @@ func (self *StagingController) applySelection(reverse bool) error {
 }
 
 func (self *StagingController) EditHunkAndRefresh() error {
+	file := self.c.Contexts().Files.FileTreeViewModel.GetSelectedFile()
+	isTracked := file != nil && file.Tracked
+
 	if err := self.editHunk(); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	self.c.Refresh(types.RefreshOptions{Scope: []types.RefreshableView{types.FILES, types.STAGING}})
+	self.c.Refresh(types.RefreshOptions{
+		Scope:              []types.RefreshableView{types.FILES, types.STAGING},
+		KeepUntrackedFiles: isTracked,
+	})
 	return nil
 }
 

pkg/gui/types/refresh.go

@@ -43,4 +43,11 @@ type RefreshOptions struct {
 	// keeps the selection index the same. Useful after checking out a detached
 	// head, and selecting index 0.
 	KeepBranchSelectionIndex bool
+
+	// When true, skip enumerating untracked files during the files refresh
+	// and preserve untracked files from the previous model state instead.
+	// This is a performance optimization for operations that only affect
+	// tracked files (e.g. staging hunks), avoiding a costly
+	// git status --untracked-files=all in large repos.
+	KeepUntrackedFiles bool
 }