diff --git a/internal/app/app.go b/internal/app/app.go
index cf0b256..f3c7f8b 100644
--- a/internal/app/app.go
+++ b/internal/app/app.go
@@ -170,7 +170,24 @@ func (a *App) collectRepoData(ctx context.Context, owner, name string, dateRange
 	if a.gitRepo != nil {
 		// Clone/update repository locally
 		token := a.config.Auth.GithubToken
-		cloneErr := a.gitRepo.EnsureCloned(ctx, owner, name, token)
+
+		// Determine clone options (shallow clone if enabled)
+		var cloneOpts *git.CloneOptions
+		if a.config.Options.ShallowClone && dateRange.Start != nil {
+			// Get commit count since start date to determine shallow clone depth
+			commitCount, countErr := a.client.GetCommitCountSince(ctx, owner, name, *dateRange.Start)
+			if countErr != nil {
+				a.log("    Warning: failed to get commit count for shallow clone: %v", countErr)
+				// Proceed with full clone
+			} else if commitCount > 0 {
+				// Add buffer for safety margin
+				depth := commitCount + a.config.Options.ShallowCloneBuffer
+				cloneOpts = &git.CloneOptions{Depth: depth}
+				a.log("    Using shallow clone (depth: %d = %d commits + %d buffer)", depth, commitCount, a.config.Options.ShallowCloneBuffer)
+			}
+		}
+
+		cloneErr := a.gitRepo.EnsureClonedWithOptions(ctx, owner, name, token, cloneOpts)
 		if cloneErr != nil {
 			a.log("    Warning: failed to clone repository locally, falling back to API: %v", cloneErr)
 			// Fallback to API
diff --git a/internal/config/schema.go b/internal/config/schema.go
index 7b85dd4..2b49563 100644
--- a/internal/config/schema.go
+++ b/internal/config/schema.go
@@ -150,6 +150,8 @@ type OptionsConfig struct {
 	AdditionalBotPatterns []string    `yaml:"additional_bot_patterns"` // User-defined patterns (added to hardcoded defaults)
 	CloneDirectory        string      `yaml:"clone_directory"`         // Directory for local git clones
 	UseLocalGit           bool        `yaml:"use_local_git"`           // Use local git for commits (faster)
+	ShallowClone          bool        `yaml:"shallow_clone"`           // Use shallow clone based on date range (faster cloning)
+	ShallowCloneBuffer    int         `yaml:"shallow_clone_buffer"`    // Extra commits to fetch beyond date range (default: 100)
 	UserAliases           []UserAlias `yaml:"user_aliases,omitempty"`  // Manual email/name to login mappings
 }
 
@@ -229,6 +231,8 @@ func DefaultConfig() *Config {
 			AdditionalBotPatterns: []string{}, // Users can add custom patterns here
 			CloneDirectory:        "./.repos",
 			UseLocalGit:           true, // Default to faster local git analysis
+			ShallowClone:          true, // Default to shallow clone for faster cloning
+			ShallowCloneBuffer:    25,   // Extra commits beyond date range for safety margin
 		},
 	}
 }
diff --git a/internal/git/repository.go b/internal/git/repository.go
index caf2d14..5ce9796 100644
--- a/internal/git/repository.go
+++ b/internal/git/repository.go
@@ -52,8 +52,19 @@ func (r *Repository) repoPath(owner, name string) string {
 	return filepath.Join(r.baseDir, owner, name)
 }
 
+// CloneOptions contains options for cloning a repository
+type CloneOptions struct {
+	// Depth limits the clone to the specified number of commits (0 = full clone)
+	Depth int
+}
+
 // EnsureCloned ensures a repository is cloned and up to date
 func (r *Repository) EnsureCloned(ctx context.Context, owner, name, token string) error {
+	return r.EnsureClonedWithOptions(ctx, owner, name, token, nil)
+}
+
+// EnsureClonedWithOptions ensures a repository is cloned with specific options
+func (r *Repository) EnsureClonedWithOptions(ctx context.Context, owner, name, token string, opts *CloneOptions) error {
 	repoPath := r.repoPath(owner, name)
 
 	// Check if already cloned
@@ -65,12 +76,16 @@ func (r *Repository) EnsureCloned(ctx context.Context, owner, name, token string
 	}
 
 	// Clone the repository
-	r.progress(fmt.Sprintf("      Cloning %s/%s...", owner, name))
-	return r.clone(ctx, owner, name, token, repoPath)
+	if opts != nil && opts.Depth > 0 {
+		r.progress(fmt.Sprintf("      Shallow cloning %s/%s (depth: %d)...", owner, name, opts.Depth))
+	} else {
+		r.progress(fmt.Sprintf("      Cloning %s/%s...", owner, name))
+	}
+	return r.clone(ctx, owner, name, token, repoPath, opts)
 }
 
 // clone clones a repository using go-git
-func (r *Repository) clone(ctx context.Context, owner, name, token, destPath string) error {
+func (r *Repository) clone(ctx context.Context, owner, name, token, destPath string, opts *CloneOptions) error {
 	// Create parent directory
 	if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(destPath), 0750); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to create parent directory: %w", err)
@@ -83,6 +98,11 @@ func (r *Repository) clone(ctx context.Context, owner, name, token, destPath str
 		Progress: nil, // Could add progress writer here
 	}
 
+	// Apply shallow clone depth if provided
+	if opts != nil && opts.Depth > 0 {
+		cloneOpts.Depth = opts.Depth
+	}
+
 	// Add authentication if token provided
 	if token != "" {
 		cloneOpts.Auth = &http.BasicAuth{
diff --git a/internal/github/client.go b/internal/github/client.go
index 49df5bd..f4a6ced 100644
--- a/internal/github/client.go
+++ b/internal/github/client.go
@@ -272,6 +272,53 @@ func (c *Client) ListOrgRepos(ctx context.Context, org, pattern string) ([]strin
 	return allRepos, nil
 }
 
+// GetCommitCountSince returns the approximate number of commits since a given date.
+// This is used to determine the optimal shallow clone depth.
+// It makes a single lightweight API call with per_page=1 to get pagination info.
+func (c *Client) GetCommitCountSince(ctx context.Context, owner, repo string, since time.Time) (int, error) {
+	opts := &github.CommitsListOptions{
+		Since: since,
+		ListOptions: github.ListOptions{
+			PerPage: 1,
+		},
+	}
+
+	var resp *github.Response
+	err := c.retryWithBackoff(ctx, "get commit count", func() error {
+		var err error
+		_, resp, err = c.gh.Repositories.ListCommits(ctx, owner, repo, opts)
+		return err
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0, fmt.Errorf("failed to get commit count: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// GitHub returns pagination info in the response
+	// LastPage indicates total number of pages (with 1 item per page = total commits)
+	if resp.LastPage > 0 {
+		return resp.LastPage, nil
+	}
+
+	// If LastPage is 0, there's only one page (or no commits)
+	// In this case, we need to check if there are any commits at all
+	if resp.FirstPage == 0 && resp.NextPage == 0 {
+		// Make another call to actually count
+		opts.ListOptions.PerPage = 100
+		var commits []*github.RepositoryCommit
+		err := c.retryWithBackoff(ctx, "count commits", func() error {
+			var err error
+			commits, _, err = c.gh.Repositories.ListCommits(ctx, owner, repo, opts)
+			return err
+		})
+		if err != nil {
+			return 0, err
+		}
+		return len(commits), nil
+	}
+
+	return 1, nil
+}
+
 // FetchCommits fetches commits from a repository within a date range
 func (c *Client) FetchCommits(ctx context.Context, owner, repo string, since, until *time.Time) ([]models.Commit, error) {
 	cacheKey := fmt.Sprintf("commits:%s/%s:%v:%v", owner, repo, since, until)