PSA: Beware locating a local git repository in an iCloud folder

This is more of a "public service announcement" regarding what I've observed than it is a question.

If you're a software developer (or someone who uses git for other purposes) beware cloning any git repository into any local folder that is backed-up into your iCloud account.

For example: my personal Apple ID has iCloud turned on to synchronize my ~/Desktop and ~/Documents folders into iCloud. This is great for backing up regular documents.

However, I recently made the mistake of thoughtlessly creating a ~/Documents/Projects folder (so Projects nested within ~/Documents) into which I've cloned several different projects' git repositories (cd ~/Documents/Projects; git clone git@remote:repo.git).

As long as I haven't switched branches and just make a few local changes and then push them up to a remote, it's not a big deal. However, if a given revision/branch of the repo has lots of files in the working tree, and I start switching between branches/commits where there are substantial differences in the file hierarchy, and if I go about switching branches rapidly... I end up having some fun surprises.

Depending on what the upstream internet speed is (I'm working with 10Mbps upstream; pretty average for those with a cable provider as their ISP) the iCloud sync software will get backlogged trying to upload all the file changes it observes in the working tree as they're rapidly changed. A side effect is that a "git status" will then weirdly indicate the presence of lots of .some-file-name.extension.icloud files which, if careless with git add and git commit, you might accidentally add them your repository.

My recommendation: be careful to clone such repositories into a local folder that is not backed up into iCloud. I've now created ~/projects for all projects where I clone remote repositories. I still keep ~/Document/Projects where I now store my ultimate "source of authority" bare repositories for some local-only or mostly-local-only projects. These I then clone into ~/projects so that this "ultimate upstream" repository's contents can be backed up by iCloud but all working-tree changes and work take place in a location that iCloud ignores.