diff --git a/Documentation/config/feature.adoc b/Documentation/config/feature.adoc
index f061b64b748449..cb49ff2604a632 100644
--- a/Documentation/config/feature.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/config/feature.adoc
@@ -20,6 +20,10 @@ walking fewer objects.
 +
 * `pack.allowPackReuse=multi` may improve the time it takes to create a pack by
 reusing objects from multiple packs instead of just one.
++
+* `pack.usePathWalk` may speed up packfile creation and make the packfiles be
+significantly smaller in the presence of certain filename collisions with Git's
+default name-hash.
 
 feature.manyFiles::
 	Enable config options that optimize for repos with many files in the
diff --git a/Documentation/config/pack.adoc b/Documentation/config/pack.adoc
index da527377fafcb6..08d06271177006 100644
--- a/Documentation/config/pack.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/config/pack.adoc
@@ -155,6 +155,14 @@ pack.useSparse::
 	commits contain certain types of direct renames. Default is
 	`true`.
 
+pack.usePathWalk::
+	When true, git will default to using the '--path-walk' option in
+	'git pack-objects' when the '--revs' option is present. This
+	algorithm groups objects by path to maximize the ability to
+	compute delta chains across historical versions of the same
+	object. This may disable other options, such as using bitmaps to
+	enumerate objects.
+
 pack.preferBitmapTips::
 	When selecting which commits will receive bitmaps, prefer a
 	commit at the tip of any reference that is a suffix of any value
diff --git a/Documentation/git-pack-objects.adoc b/Documentation/git-pack-objects.adoc
index 7f69ae4855f6ce..a91aa7989cbeff 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-pack-objects.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/git-pack-objects.adoc
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ SYNOPSIS
 	[--cruft] [--cruft-expiration=<time>]
 	[--stdout [--filter=<filter-spec>] | <base-name>]
 	[--shallow] [--keep-true-parents] [--[no-]sparse]
-	[--name-hash-version=<n>] < <object-list>
+	[--name-hash-version=<n>] [--path-walk] < <object-list>
 
 
 DESCRIPTION
@@ -375,6 +375,16 @@ many different directories. At the moment, this version is not allowed
 when writing reachability bitmap files with `--write-bitmap-index` and it
 will be automatically changed to version `1`.
 
+--path-walk::
+	By default, `git pack-objects` walks objects in an order that
+	presents trees and blobs in an order unrelated to the path they
+	appear relative to a commit's root tree. The `--path-walk` option
+	enables a different walking algorithm that organizes trees and
+	blobs by path. This has the potential to improve delta compression
+	especially in the presence of filenames that cause collisions in
+	Git's default name-hash algorithm. Due to changing how the objects
+	are walked, this option is not compatible with `--delta-islands`,
+	`--shallow`, or `--filter`.
 
 DELTA ISLANDS
 -------------
diff --git a/Documentation/git-repack.adoc b/Documentation/git-repack.adoc
index 5852a5c9736875..2199eb3b94f2ec 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-repack.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/git-repack.adoc
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ SYNOPSIS
 [verse]
 'git repack' [-a] [-A] [-d] [-f] [-F] [-l] [-n] [-q] [-b] [-m]
 	[--window=<n>] [--depth=<n>] [--threads=<n>] [--keep-pack=<pack-name>]
-	[--write-midx] [--name-hash-version=<n>]
+	[--write-midx] [--name-hash-version=<n>] [--path-walk]
 
 DESCRIPTION
 -----------
@@ -255,6 +255,18 @@ linkgit:git-multi-pack-index[1]).
 	Provide this argument to the underlying `git pack-objects` process.
 	See linkgit:git-pack-objects[1] for full details.
 
+--path-walk::
+	This option passes the `--path-walk` option to the underlying
+	`git pack-options` process (see linkgit:git-pack-objects[1]).
+	By default, `git pack-objects` walks objects in an order that
+	presents trees and blobs in an order unrelated to the path they
+	appear relative to a commit's root tree. The `--path-walk` option
+	enables a different walking algorithm that organizes trees and
+	blobs by path. This has the potential to improve delta compression
+	especially in the presence of filenames that cause collisions in
+	Git's default name-hash algorithm. Due to changing how the objects
+	are walked, this option is not compatible with `--delta-islands`
+	or `--filter`.
 
 CONFIGURATION
 -------------
diff --git a/Documentation/technical/api-path-walk.adoc b/Documentation/technical/api-path-walk.adoc
index 3e089211fb4d69..6cc4cb491d3804 100644
--- a/Documentation/technical/api-path-walk.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/technical/api-path-walk.adoc
@@ -70,3 +70,4 @@ Examples
 See example usages in:
 	`t/helper/test-path-walk.c`,
 	`builtin/backfill.c`
+	`builtin/pack-objects.c`
diff --git a/builtin/pack-objects.c b/builtin/pack-objects.c
index a7e4bb79049b94..21153c4c304ab9 100644
--- a/builtin/pack-objects.c
+++ b/builtin/pack-objects.c
@@ -41,6 +41,9 @@
 #include "promisor-remote.h"
 #include "pack-mtimes.h"
 #include "parse-options.h"
+#include "blob.h"
+#include "tree.h"
+#include "path-walk.h"
 
 /*
  * Objects we are going to pack are collected in the `to_pack` structure.
@@ -217,6 +220,7 @@ static int delta_search_threads;
 static int pack_to_stdout;
 static int sparse;
 static int thin;
+static int path_walk = -1;
 static int num_preferred_base;
 static struct progress *progress_state;
 
@@ -2955,6 +2959,7 @@ static void find_deltas(struct object_entry **list, unsigned *list_size,
 struct thread_params {
 	pthread_t thread;
 	struct object_entry **list;
+	struct packing_region *regions;
 	unsigned list_size;
 	unsigned remaining;
 	int window;
@@ -3197,6 +3202,236 @@ static int add_ref_tag(const char *tag UNUSED, const char *referent UNUSED, cons
 	return 0;
 }
 
+static int should_attempt_deltas(struct object_entry *entry)
+{
+	if (DELTA(entry))
+		return 0;
+
+	if (!entry->type_valid ||
+	    oe_size_less_than(&to_pack, entry, 50))
+		return 0;
+
+	if (entry->no_try_delta)
+		return 0;
+
+	if (!entry->preferred_base) {
+		if (oe_type(entry) < 0)
+			die(_("unable to get type of object %s"),
+				oid_to_hex(&entry->idx.oid));
+	} else if (oe_type(entry) < 0) {
+		/*
+		 * This object is not found, but we
+		 * don't have to include it anyway.
+		 */
+		return 0;
+	}
+
+	return 1;
+}
+
+static void find_deltas_for_region(struct object_entry *list UNUSED,
+				   struct packing_region *region,
+				   unsigned int *processed)
+{
+	struct object_entry **delta_list;
+	uint32_t delta_list_nr = 0;
+
+	ALLOC_ARRAY(delta_list, region->nr);
+	for (uint32_t i = 0; i < region->nr; i++) {
+		struct object_entry *entry = to_pack.objects + region->start + i;
+		if (should_attempt_deltas(entry))
+			delta_list[delta_list_nr++] = entry;
+	}
+
+	QSORT(delta_list, delta_list_nr, type_size_sort);
+	find_deltas(delta_list, &delta_list_nr, window, depth, processed);
+	free(delta_list);
+}
+
+static void find_deltas_by_region(struct object_entry *list,
+				  struct packing_region *regions,
+				  uint32_t start, uint32_t nr)
+{
+	unsigned int processed = 0;
+	uint32_t progress_nr;
+
+	if (!nr)
+		return;
+
+	progress_nr = regions[nr - 1].start + regions[nr - 1].nr;
+
+	if (progress)
+		progress_state = start_progress(the_repository,
+						_("Compressing objects by path"),
+						progress_nr);
+
+	while (nr--)
+		find_deltas_for_region(list,
+				       &regions[start++],
+				       &processed);
+
+	display_progress(progress_state, progress_nr);
+	stop_progress(&progress_state);
+}
+
+static void *threaded_find_deltas_by_path(void *arg)
+{
+	struct thread_params *me = arg;
+
+	progress_lock();
+	while (me->remaining) {
+		while (me->remaining) {
+			progress_unlock();
+			find_deltas_for_region(to_pack.objects,
+					       me->regions,
+					       me->processed);
+			progress_lock();
+			me->remaining--;
+			me->regions++;
+		}
+
+		me->working = 0;
+		pthread_cond_signal(&progress_cond);
+		progress_unlock();
+
+		/*
+		 * We must not set ->data_ready before we wait on the
+		 * condition because the main thread may have set it to 1
+		 * before we get here. In order to be sure that new
+		 * work is available if we see 1 in ->data_ready, it
+		 * was initialized to 0 before this thread was spawned
+		 * and we reset it to 0 right away.
+		 */
+		pthread_mutex_lock(&me->mutex);
+		while (!me->data_ready)
+			pthread_cond_wait(&me->cond, &me->mutex);
+		me->data_ready = 0;
+		pthread_mutex_unlock(&me->mutex);
+
+		progress_lock();
+	}
+	progress_unlock();
+	/* leave ->working 1 so that this doesn't get more work assigned */
+	return NULL;
+}
+
+static void ll_find_deltas_by_region(struct object_entry *list,
+				     struct packing_region *regions,
+				     uint32_t start, uint32_t nr)
+{
+	struct thread_params *p;
+	int i, ret, active_threads = 0;
+	unsigned int processed = 0;
+	uint32_t progress_nr;
+	init_threaded_search();
+
+	if (!nr)
+		return;
+
+	progress_nr =  regions[nr - 1].start + regions[nr - 1].nr;
+	if (delta_search_threads <= 1) {
+		find_deltas_by_region(list, regions, start, nr);
+		cleanup_threaded_search();
+		return;
+	}
+
+	if (progress > pack_to_stdout)
+		fprintf_ln(stderr, _("Path-based delta compression using up to %d threads"),
+			   delta_search_threads);
+	CALLOC_ARRAY(p, delta_search_threads);
+
+	if (progress)
+		progress_state = start_progress(the_repository,
+						_("Compressing objects by path"),
+						progress_nr);
+	/* Partition the work amongst work threads. */
+	for (i = 0; i < delta_search_threads; i++) {
+		unsigned sub_size = nr / (delta_search_threads - i);
+
+		p[i].window = window;
+		p[i].depth = depth;
+		p[i].processed = &processed;
+		p[i].working = 1;
+		p[i].data_ready = 0;
+
+		p[i].regions = regions;
+		p[i].list_size = sub_size;
+		p[i].remaining = sub_size;
+
+		regions += sub_size;
+		nr -= sub_size;
+	}
+
+	/* Start work threads. */
+	for (i = 0; i < delta_search_threads; i++) {
+		if (!p[i].list_size)
+			continue;
+		pthread_mutex_init(&p[i].mutex, NULL);
+		pthread_cond_init(&p[i].cond, NULL);
+		ret = pthread_create(&p[i].thread, NULL,
+				     threaded_find_deltas_by_path, &p[i]);
+		if (ret)
+			die(_("unable to create thread: %s"), strerror(ret));
+		active_threads++;
+	}
+
+	/*
+	 * Now let's wait for work completion.  Each time a thread is done
+	 * with its work, we steal half of the remaining work from the
+	 * thread with the largest number of unprocessed objects and give
+	 * it to that newly idle thread.  This ensure good load balancing
+	 * until the remaining object list segments are simply too short
+	 * to be worth splitting anymore.
+	 */
+	while (active_threads) {
+		struct thread_params *target = NULL;
+		struct thread_params *victim = NULL;
+		unsigned sub_size = 0;
+
+		progress_lock();
+		for (;;) {
+			for (i = 0; !target && i < delta_search_threads; i++)
+				if (!p[i].working)
+					target = &p[i];
+			if (target)
+				break;
+			pthread_cond_wait(&progress_cond, &progress_mutex);
+		}
+
+		for (i = 0; i < delta_search_threads; i++)
+			if (p[i].remaining > 2*window &&
+			    (!victim || victim->remaining < p[i].remaining))
+				victim = &p[i];
+		if (victim) {
+			sub_size = victim->remaining / 2;
+			target->regions = victim->regions + victim->remaining - sub_size;
+			victim->list_size -= sub_size;
+			victim->remaining -= sub_size;
+		}
+		target->list_size = sub_size;
+		target->remaining = sub_size;
+		target->working = 1;
+		progress_unlock();
+
+		pthread_mutex_lock(&target->mutex);
+		target->data_ready = 1;
+		pthread_cond_signal(&target->cond);
+		pthread_mutex_unlock(&target->mutex);
+
+		if (!sub_size) {
+			pthread_join(target->thread, NULL);
+			pthread_cond_destroy(&target->cond);
+			pthread_mutex_destroy(&target->mutex);
+			active_threads--;
+		}
+	}
+	cleanup_threaded_search();
+	free(p);
+
+	display_progress(progress_state, progress_nr);
+	stop_progress(&progress_state);
+}
+
 static void prepare_pack(int window, int depth)
 {
 	struct object_entry **delta_list;
@@ -3221,39 +3456,21 @@ static void prepare_pack(int window, int depth)
 	if (!to_pack.nr_objects || !window || !depth)
 		return;
 
+	if (path_walk)
+		ll_find_deltas_by_region(to_pack.objects, to_pack.regions,
+					 0, to_pack.nr_regions);
+
 	ALLOC_ARRAY(delta_list, to_pack.nr_objects);
 	nr_deltas = n = 0;
 
 	for (i = 0; i < to_pack.nr_objects; i++) {
 		struct object_entry *entry = to_pack.objects + i;
 
-		if (DELTA(entry))
-			/* This happens if we decided to reuse existing
-			 * delta from a pack.  "reuse_delta &&" is implied.
-			 */
-			continue;
-
-		if (!entry->type_valid ||
-		    oe_size_less_than(&to_pack, entry, 50))
+		if (!should_attempt_deltas(entry))
 			continue;
 
-		if (entry->no_try_delta)
-			continue;
-
-		if (!entry->preferred_base) {
+		if (!entry->preferred_base)
 			nr_deltas++;
-			if (oe_type(entry) < 0)
-				die(_("unable to get type of object %s"),
-				    oid_to_hex(&entry->idx.oid));
-		} else {
-			if (oe_type(entry) < 0) {
-				/*
-				 * This object is not found, but we
-				 * don't have to include it anyway.
-				 */
-				continue;
-			}
-		}
 
 		delta_list[n++] = entry;
 	}
@@ -4184,6 +4401,88 @@ static void mark_bitmap_preferred_tips(void)
 	}
 }
 
+static inline int is_oid_interesting(struct repository *repo,
+				     struct object_id *oid)
+{
+	struct object *o = lookup_object(repo, oid);
+	return o && !(o->flags & UNINTERESTING);
+}
+
+static int add_objects_by_path(const char *path,
+			       struct oid_array *oids,
+			       enum object_type type,
+			       void *data)
+{
+	size_t oe_start = to_pack.nr_objects;
+	size_t oe_end;
+	unsigned int *processed = data;
+
+	/*
+	 * First, add all objects to the packing data, including the ones
+	 * marked UNINTERESTING (translated to 'exclude') as they can be
+	 * used as delta bases.
+	 */
+	for (size_t i = 0; i < oids->nr; i++) {
+		int exclude;
+		struct object_info oi = OBJECT_INFO_INIT;
+		struct object_id *oid = &oids->oid[i];
+
+		/* Skip objects that do not exist locally. */
+		if ((exclude_promisor_objects || arg_missing_action != MA_ERROR) &&
+		    oid_object_info_extended(the_repository, oid, &oi,
+					     OBJECT_INFO_FOR_PREFETCH) < 0)
+			continue;
+
+		exclude = !is_oid_interesting(the_repository, oid);
+
+		if (exclude && !thin)
+			continue;
+
+		add_object_entry(oid, type, path, exclude);
+	}
+
+	oe_end = to_pack.nr_objects;
+
+	/* We can skip delta calculations if it is a no-op. */
+	if (oe_end == oe_start || !window)
+		return 0;
+
+	ALLOC_GROW(to_pack.regions,
+		   to_pack.nr_regions + 1,
+		   to_pack.nr_regions_alloc);
+
+	to_pack.regions[to_pack.nr_regions].start = oe_start;
+	to_pack.regions[to_pack.nr_regions].nr = oe_end - oe_start;
+	to_pack.nr_regions++;
+
+	*processed += oids->nr;
+	display_progress(progress_state, *processed);
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static void get_object_list_path_walk(struct rev_info *revs)
+{
+	struct path_walk_info info = PATH_WALK_INFO_INIT;
+	unsigned int processed = 0;
+
+	info.revs = revs;
+	info.path_fn = add_objects_by_path;
+	info.path_fn_data = &processed;
+	revs->tag_objects = 1;
+
+	/*
+	 * Allow the --[no-]sparse option to be interesting here, if only
+	 * for testing purposes. Paths with no interesting objects will not
+	 * contribute to the resulting pack, but only create noisy preferred
+	 * base objects.
+	 */
+	info.prune_all_uninteresting = sparse;
+
+	if (walk_objects_by_path(&info))
+		die(_("failed to pack objects via path-walk"));
+}
+
 static void get_object_list(struct rev_info *revs, int ac, const char **av)
 {
 	struct setup_revision_opt s_r_opt = {
@@ -4230,7 +4529,7 @@ static void get_object_list(struct rev_info *revs, int ac, const char **av)
 
 	warn_on_object_refname_ambiguity = save_warning;
 
-	if (use_bitmap_index && !get_object_list_from_bitmap(revs))
+	if (use_bitmap_index && !path_walk && !get_object_list_from_bitmap(revs))
 		return;
 
 	if (use_delta_islands)
@@ -4239,15 +4538,19 @@ static void get_object_list(struct rev_info *revs, int ac, const char **av)
 	if (write_bitmap_index)
 		mark_bitmap_preferred_tips();
 
-	if (prepare_revision_walk(revs))
-		die(_("revision walk setup failed"));
-	mark_edges_uninteresting(revs, show_edge, sparse);
-
 	if (!fn_show_object)
 		fn_show_object = show_object;
-	traverse_commit_list(revs,
-			     show_commit, fn_show_object,
-			     NULL);
+
+	if (path_walk) {
+		get_object_list_path_walk(revs);
+	} else {
+		if (prepare_revision_walk(revs))
+			die(_("revision walk setup failed"));
+		mark_edges_uninteresting(revs, show_edge, sparse);
+		traverse_commit_list(revs,
+				show_commit, fn_show_object,
+				NULL);
+	}
 
 	if (unpack_unreachable_expiration) {
 		revs->ignore_missing_links = 1;
@@ -4457,6 +4760,8 @@ int cmd_pack_objects(int argc,
 			 N_("use the sparse reachability algorithm")),
 		OPT_BOOL(0, "thin", &thin,
 			 N_("create thin packs")),
+		OPT_BOOL(0, "path-walk", &path_walk,
+			 N_("use the path-walk API to walk objects when possible")),
 		OPT_BOOL(0, "shallow", &shallow,
 			 N_("create packs suitable for shallow fetches")),
 		OPT_BOOL(0, "honor-pack-keep", &ignore_packed_keep_on_disk,
@@ -4526,6 +4831,17 @@ int cmd_pack_objects(int argc,
 	if (pack_to_stdout != !base_name || argc)
 		usage_with_options(pack_usage, pack_objects_options);
 
+	if (path_walk < 0) {
+		if (use_bitmap_index > 0 ||
+		    !use_internal_rev_list)
+			path_walk = 0;
+		else if (the_repository->gitdir &&
+			 the_repository->settings.pack_use_path_walk)
+			path_walk = 1;
+		else
+			path_walk = git_env_bool("GIT_TEST_PACK_PATH_WALK", 0);
+	}
+
 	if (depth < 0)
 		depth = 0;
 	if (depth >= (1 << OE_DEPTH_BITS)) {
@@ -4542,7 +4858,27 @@ int cmd_pack_objects(int argc,
 		window = 0;
 
 	strvec_push(&rp, "pack-objects");
-	if (thin) {
+
+	if (path_walk && filter_options.choice) {
+		warning(_("cannot use --filter with --path-walk"));
+		path_walk = 0;
+	}
+	if (path_walk && use_delta_islands) {
+		warning(_("cannot use delta islands with --path-walk"));
+		path_walk = 0;
+	}
+	if (path_walk && shallow) {
+		warning(_("cannot use --shallow with --path-walk"));
+		path_walk = 0;
+	}
+	if (path_walk) {
+		strvec_push(&rp, "--boundary");
+		 /*
+		  * We must disable the bitmaps because we are removing
+		  * the --objects / --objects-edge[-aggressive] options.
+		  */
+		use_bitmap_index = 0;
+	} else if (thin) {
 		use_internal_rev_list = 1;
 		strvec_push(&rp, shallow
 				? "--objects-edge-aggressive"
diff --git a/builtin/repack.c b/builtin/repack.c
index 75e3752353a27f..68c5c5c3ff10db 100644
--- a/builtin/repack.c
+++ b/builtin/repack.c
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ static char *packdir, *packtmp_name, *packtmp;
 static const char *const git_repack_usage[] = {
 	N_("git repack [-a] [-A] [-d] [-f] [-F] [-l] [-n] [-q] [-b] [-m]\n"
 	   "[--window=<n>] [--depth=<n>] [--threads=<n>] [--keep-pack=<pack-name>]\n"
-	   "[--write-midx] [--name-hash-version=<n>]"),
+	   "[--write-midx] [--name-hash-version=<n>] [--path-walk]"),
 	NULL
 };
 
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ struct pack_objects_args {
 	int quiet;
 	int local;
 	int name_hash_version;
+	int path_walk;
 	struct list_objects_filter_options filter_options;
 };
 
@@ -313,6 +314,8 @@ static void prepare_pack_objects(struct child_process *cmd,
 		strvec_pushf(&cmd->args, "--no-reuse-object");
 	if (args->name_hash_version)
 		strvec_pushf(&cmd->args, "--name-hash-version=%d", args->name_hash_version);
+	if (args->path_walk)
+		strvec_pushf(&cmd->args, "--path-walk");
 	if (args->local)
 		strvec_push(&cmd->args,  "--local");
 	if (args->quiet)
@@ -1212,6 +1215,8 @@ int cmd_repack(int argc,
 				N_("pass --no-reuse-object to git-pack-objects")),
 		OPT_INTEGER(0, "name-hash-version", &po_args.name_hash_version,
 				N_("specify the name hash version to use for grouping similar objects by path")),
+		OPT_BOOL(0, "path-walk", &po_args.path_walk,
+				N_("(EXPERIMENTAL!) pass --path-walk to git-pack-objects")),
 		OPT_NEGBIT('n', NULL, &run_update_server_info,
 				N_("do not run git-update-server-info"), 1),
 		OPT__QUIET(&po_args.quiet, N_("be quiet")),
diff --git a/ci/run-build-and-tests.sh b/ci/run-build-and-tests.sh
index 32e2f62893c33d..3151907ee546e9 100755
--- a/ci/run-build-and-tests.sh
+++ b/ci/run-build-and-tests.sh
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ linux-TEST-vars)
 	export GIT_TEST_NO_WRITE_REV_INDEX=1
 	export GIT_TEST_CHECKOUT_WORKERS=2
 	export GIT_TEST_PACK_USE_BITMAP_BOUNDARY_TRAVERSAL=1
+	export GIT_TEST_PACK_PATH_WALK=1
 	;;
 linux-clang)
 	export GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_HASH=sha1
diff --git a/pack-objects.h b/pack-objects.h
index d73e3843c92e9c..1b01304f9c4d5e 100644
--- a/pack-objects.h
+++ b/pack-objects.h
@@ -119,11 +119,23 @@ struct object_entry {
 	unsigned ext_base:1; /* delta_idx points outside packlist */
 };
 
+/**
+ * A packing region is a section of the packing_data.objects array
+ * as given by a starting index and a number of elements.
+ */
+struct packing_region {
+	uint32_t start;
+	uint32_t nr;
+};
+
 struct packing_data {
 	struct repository *repo;
 	struct object_entry *objects;
 	uint32_t nr_objects, nr_alloc;
 
+	struct packing_region *regions;
+	uint32_t nr_regions, nr_regions_alloc;
+
 	int32_t *index;
 	uint32_t index_size;
 
diff --git a/repo-settings.c b/repo-settings.c
index 9d16d5399e3751..633b154c20ab57 100644
--- a/repo-settings.c
+++ b/repo-settings.c
@@ -47,11 +47,13 @@ void prepare_repo_settings(struct repository *r)
 		r->settings.fetch_negotiation_algorithm = FETCH_NEGOTIATION_SKIPPING;
 		r->settings.pack_use_bitmap_boundary_traversal = 1;
 		r->settings.pack_use_multi_pack_reuse = 1;
+		r->settings.pack_use_path_walk = 1;
 	}
 	if (manyfiles) {
 		r->settings.index_version = 4;
 		r->settings.index_skip_hash = 1;
 		r->settings.core_untracked_cache = UNTRACKED_CACHE_WRITE;
+		r->settings.pack_use_path_walk = 1;
 	}
 
 	/* Commit graph config or default, does not cascade (simple) */
@@ -66,6 +68,7 @@ void prepare_repo_settings(struct repository *r)
 
 	/* Boolean config or default, does not cascade (simple)  */
 	repo_cfg_bool(r, "pack.usesparse", &r->settings.pack_use_sparse, 1);
+	repo_cfg_bool(r, "pack.usepathwalk", &r->settings.pack_use_path_walk, 0);
 	repo_cfg_bool(r, "core.multipackindex", &r->settings.core_multi_pack_index, 1);
 	repo_cfg_bool(r, "index.sparse", &r->settings.sparse_index, 0);
 	repo_cfg_bool(r, "index.skiphash", &r->settings.index_skip_hash, r->settings.index_skip_hash);
diff --git a/repo-settings.h b/repo-settings.h
index 93ea0c32741125..7e8869ac4efcb8 100644
--- a/repo-settings.h
+++ b/repo-settings.h
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ struct repo_settings {
 	enum untracked_cache_setting core_untracked_cache;
 
 	int pack_use_sparse;
+	int pack_use_path_walk;
 	enum fetch_negotiation_setting fetch_negotiation_algorithm;
 
 	int core_multi_pack_index;
diff --git a/revision.c b/revision.c
index 474fa1e767c8d8..32d949b36feb80 100644
--- a/revision.c
+++ b/revision.c
@@ -220,6 +220,21 @@ static void add_children_by_path(struct repository *r,
 	free_tree_buffer(tree);
 }
 
+void mark_trees_uninteresting_dense(struct repository *r,
+				    struct oidset *trees)
+{
+	struct object_id *oid;
+	struct oidset_iter iter;
+
+	oidset_iter_init(trees, &iter);
+	while ((oid = oidset_iter_next(&iter))) {
+		struct tree *tree = lookup_tree(r, oid);
+
+		if (tree->object.flags & UNINTERESTING)
+			mark_tree_contents_uninteresting(r, tree);
+	}
+}
+
 void mark_trees_uninteresting_sparse(struct repository *r,
 				     struct oidset *trees)
 {
diff --git a/revision.h b/revision.h
index 71e984c452b8d7..8938b2db112e2a 100644
--- a/revision.h
+++ b/revision.h
@@ -487,6 +487,7 @@ void put_revision_mark(const struct rev_info *revs,
 
 void mark_parents_uninteresting(struct rev_info *revs, struct commit *commit);
 void mark_tree_uninteresting(struct repository *r, struct tree *tree);
+void mark_trees_uninteresting_dense(struct repository *r, struct oidset *trees);
 void mark_trees_uninteresting_sparse(struct repository *r, struct oidset *trees);
 
 void show_object_with_name(FILE *, struct object *, const char *);
diff --git a/scalar.c b/scalar.c
index da42b4be0cc9b6..bf638fa34b80bd 100644
--- a/scalar.c
+++ b/scalar.c
@@ -170,6 +170,7 @@ static int set_recommended_config(int reconfigure)
 		{ "core.autoCRLF", "false" },
 		{ "core.safeCRLF", "false" },
 		{ "fetch.showForcedUpdates", "false" },
+		{ "pack.usePathWalk", "true" },
 		{ NULL, NULL },
 	};
 	int i;
diff --git a/t/README b/t/README
index 53e5b4a7107416..ae06e62881503d 100644
--- a/t/README
+++ b/t/README
@@ -415,6 +415,10 @@ GIT_TEST_PACK_SPARSE=<boolean> if disabled will default the pack-objects
 builtin to use the non-sparse object walk. This can still be overridden by
 the --sparse command-line argument.
 
+GIT_TEST_PACK_PATH_WALK=<boolean> if enabled will default the pack-objects
+builtin to use the path-walk API for the object walk. This can still be
+overridden by the --no-path-walk command-line argument.
+
 GIT_TEST_PRELOAD_INDEX=<boolean> exercises the preload-index code path
 by overriding the minimum number of cache entries required per thread.
 
diff --git a/t/perf/p5313-pack-objects.sh b/t/perf/p5313-pack-objects.sh
index be5229a0ecdcf5..110b730996e145 100755
--- a/t/perf/p5313-pack-objects.sh
+++ b/t/perf/p5313-pack-objects.sh
@@ -67,4 +67,29 @@ do
 	'
 done
 
+test_perf 'thin pack with --path-walk' '
+	git pack-objects --thin --stdout --revs --sparse --path-walk <in-thin >out
+'
+
+test_size 'thin pack size with --path-walk' '
+	test_file_size out
+'
+
+test_perf 'big pack with --path-walk' '
+	git pack-objects --stdout --revs --sparse --path-walk <in-big >out
+'
+
+test_size 'big pack size with --path-walk' '
+	test_file_size out
+'
+
+test_perf 'repack with --path-walk' '
+	git repack -adf --path-walk
+'
+
+test_size 'repack size with --path-walk' '
+	pack=$(ls .git/objects/pack/pack-*.pack) &&
+	test_file_size "$pack"
+'
+
 test_done
diff --git a/t/t0411-clone-from-partial.sh b/t/t0411-clone-from-partial.sh
index 196fc617843cb9..9e6bca56255be9 100755
--- a/t/t0411-clone-from-partial.sh
+++ b/t/t0411-clone-from-partial.sh
@@ -59,6 +59,12 @@ test_expect_success 'pack-objects should fetch from promisor remote and execute
 
 test_expect_success 'clone from promisor remote does not lazy-fetch by default' '
 	rm -f script-executed &&
+
+	# The --path-walk feature of "git pack-objects" is not
+	# compatible with this kind of fetch from an incomplete repo.
+	GIT_TEST_PACK_PATH_WALK=0 &&
+	export GIT_TEST_PACK_PATH_WALK &&
+
 	test_must_fail git clone evil no-lazy 2>err &&
 	test_grep "lazy fetching disabled" err &&
 	test_path_is_missing script-executed
diff --git a/t/t5300-pack-object.sh b/t/t5300-pack-object.sh
index 5ac8d39094b653..5fba2a16799766 100755
--- a/t/t5300-pack-object.sh
+++ b/t/t5300-pack-object.sh
@@ -723,4 +723,25 @@ test_expect_success '--name-hash-version=2 and --write-bitmap-index are incompat
 	! test_grep "currently, --write-bitmap-index requires --name-hash-version=1" err
 '
 
+# Basic "repack everything" test
+test_expect_success '--path-walk pack everything' '
+	git -C server rev-parse HEAD >in &&
+	GIT_PROGRESS_DELAY=0 git -C server pack-objects \
+		--stdout --revs --path-walk --progress <in >out.pack 2>err &&
+	grep "Compressing objects by path" err &&
+	git -C server index-pack --stdin <out.pack
+'
+
+# Basic "thin pack" test
+test_expect_success '--path-walk thin pack' '
+	cat >in <<-EOF &&
+	$(git -C server rev-parse HEAD)
+	^$(git -C server rev-parse HEAD~2)
+	EOF
+	GIT_PROGRESS_DELAY=0 git -C server pack-objects \
+		--thin --stdout --revs --path-walk --progress <in >out.pack 2>err &&
+	grep "Compressing objects by path" err &&
+	git -C server index-pack --fix-thin --stdin <out.pack
+'
+
 test_done
diff --git a/t/t5306-pack-nobase.sh b/t/t5306-pack-nobase.sh
index 805d60ff3179ce..609399d54fbb5b 100755
--- a/t/t5306-pack-nobase.sh
+++ b/t/t5306-pack-nobase.sh
@@ -59,6 +59,11 @@ test_expect_success 'indirectly clone patch_clone' '
 	 git pull ../.git &&
 	 test $(git rev-parse HEAD) = $B &&
 
+	# The --path-walk feature of "git pack-objects" is not
+	# compatible with this kind of fetch from an incomplete repo.
+	GIT_TEST_PACK_PATH_WALK=0 &&
+	export GIT_TEST_PACK_PATH_WALK &&
+
 	 git pull ../patch_clone/.git &&
 	 test $(git rev-parse HEAD) = $C
 	)
diff --git a/t/t5310-pack-bitmaps.sh b/t/t5310-pack-bitmaps.sh
index 621bbbdd26ed21..e01df807a62d78 100755
--- a/t/t5310-pack-bitmaps.sh
+++ b/t/t5310-pack-bitmaps.sh
@@ -158,8 +158,9 @@ test_bitmap_cases () {
 		ls .git/objects/pack/ | grep bitmap >output &&
 		test_line_count = 1 output &&
 		# verify equivalent packs are generated with/without using bitmap index
-		packasha1=$(git pack-objects --no-use-bitmap-index --all packa </dev/null) &&
-		packbsha1=$(git pack-objects --use-bitmap-index --all packb </dev/null) &&
+		# Be careful to not use the path-walk option in either case.
+		packasha1=$(git pack-objects --no-use-bitmap-index --no-path-walk --all packa </dev/null) &&
+		packbsha1=$(git pack-objects --use-bitmap-index --no-path-walk --all packb </dev/null) &&
 		list_packed_objects packa-$packasha1.idx >packa.objects &&
 		list_packed_objects packb-$packbsha1.idx >packb.objects &&
 		test_cmp packa.objects packb.objects
@@ -388,6 +389,14 @@ test_bitmap_cases () {
 		git init --bare client.git &&
 		(
 			cd client.git &&
+
+			# This test relies on reusing a delta, but if the
+			# path-walk machinery is engaged, the base object
+			# is considered too small to use during the
+			# dynamic computation, so is not used.
+			GIT_TEST_PACK_PATH_WALK=0 &&
+			export GIT_TEST_PACK_PATH_WALK &&
+
 			git config transfer.unpackLimit 1 &&
 			git fetch .. delta-reuse-old:delta-reuse-old &&
 			git fetch .. delta-reuse-new:delta-reuse-new &&
diff --git a/t/t5316-pack-delta-depth.sh b/t/t5316-pack-delta-depth.sh
index 32cf4227451ff7..167c3a35234576 100755
--- a/t/t5316-pack-delta-depth.sh
+++ b/t/t5316-pack-delta-depth.sh
@@ -89,15 +89,18 @@ max_chain() {
 # adjusted (or scrapped if the heuristics have become too unreliable)
 test_expect_success 'packing produces a long delta' '
 	# Use --window=0 to make sure we are seeing reused deltas,
-	# not computing a new long chain.
-	pack=$(git pack-objects --all --window=0 </dev/null pack) &&
+	# not computing a new long chain. (Also avoid the --path-walk
+	# option as it may break delta chains.)
+	pack=$(git pack-objects --all --window=0 --no-path-walk </dev/null pack) &&
 	echo 9 >expect &&
 	max_chain pack-$pack.pack >actual &&
 	test_cmp expect actual
 '
 
 test_expect_success '--depth limits depth' '
-	pack=$(git pack-objects --all --depth=5 </dev/null pack) &&
+	# Avoid --path-walk to avoid breaking delta chains across path
+	# boundaries.
+	pack=$(git pack-objects --all --depth=5 --no-path-walk </dev/null pack) &&
 	echo 5 >expect &&
 	max_chain pack-$pack.pack >actual &&
 	test_cmp expect actual
diff --git a/t/t5332-multi-pack-reuse.sh b/t/t5332-multi-pack-reuse.sh
index 57cad7708f80f9..395d09444ced72 100755
--- a/t/t5332-multi-pack-reuse.sh
+++ b/t/t5332-multi-pack-reuse.sh
@@ -7,6 +7,13 @@ test_description='pack-objects multi-pack reuse'
 
 GIT_TEST_MULTI_PACK_INDEX=0
 GIT_TEST_MULTI_PACK_INDEX_WRITE_INCREMENTAL=0
+
+# The --path-walk option does not consider the preferred pack
+# at all for reusing deltas, so this variable changes the
+# behavior of this test, if enabled.
+GIT_TEST_PACK_PATH_WALK=0
+export GIT_TEST_PACK_PATH_WALK
+
 objdir=.git/objects
 packdir=$objdir/pack
 
diff --git a/t/t7406-submodule-update.sh b/t/t7406-submodule-update.sh
index 38bfaeb510a2fb..beb8fac36a2094 100755
--- a/t/t7406-submodule-update.sh
+++ b/t/t7406-submodule-update.sh
@@ -1103,6 +1103,7 @@ test_expect_success 'submodule update --quiet passes quietness to fetch with a s
 	git clone super4 super5 &&
 	(cd super5 &&
 	 # This test var can mess with the stderr output checked in this test.
+	 GIT_TEST_PACK_PATH_WALK=0 \
 	 GIT_TEST_NAME_HASH_VERSION=1 \
 		git submodule update --quiet --init --depth=1 submodule3 >out 2>err &&
 	 test_must_be_empty out &&
@@ -1110,6 +1111,8 @@ test_expect_success 'submodule update --quiet passes quietness to fetch with a s
 	) &&
 	git clone super4 super6 &&
 	(cd super6 &&
+	 # This test variable will create a "warning" message to stderr
+	 GIT_TEST_PACK_PATH_WALK=0 \
 	 git submodule update --init --depth=1 submodule3 >out 2>err &&
 	 test_file_not_empty out &&
 	 test_file_not_empty err