diff --git a/doc/bitbake-user-manual/bitbake-user-manual-ref-variables.rst b/doc/bitbake-user-manual/bitbake-user-manual-ref-variables.rst
index 8d8e8b8b..1def16e7 100644
--- a/doc/bitbake-user-manual/bitbake-user-manual-ref-variables.rst
+++ b/doc/bitbake-user-manual/bitbake-user-manual-ref-variables.rst
@@ -390,6 +390,25 @@ overview of their function and contents.
          # This defaults to enabled if both BB_GIT_SHALLOW and
          # BB_GENERATE_MIRROR_TARBALLS are enabled
          BB_GENERATE_SHALLOW_TARBALLS ?= "1"
+   
+      :term:`BB_GIT_SHALLOW_SKIP_FAST`
+      When :term:`BB_GIT_SHALLOW` is enabled, BitBake will by default attempt a
+      fast initial shallow clone directly from the upstream repository, bypassing
+      the creation of a local full clone in :term:`DL_DIR`. Setting this variable
+      to ``"1"`` disables that fast path so the fetcher always creates and
+      maintains a local clone in :term:`DL_DIR`, allowing subsequent builds to
+      fetch only the delta of changes rather than re-downloading the full shallow
+      history.
+
+      This is useful in CI environments where shallow tarballs are treated as
+      fallback artifacts and incremental network efficiency is preferred.
+
+      Example usage::
+
+         BB_GIT_SHALLOW ?= "1"
+         BB_GIT_SHALLOW_SKIP_FAST ?= "1"
+
+      See also :term:`BB_GIT_SHALLOW` and :term:`BB_GIT_SHALLOW_DEPTH`.
 
    :term:`BB_GIT_SHALLOW_DEPTH`
       When used with :term:`BB_GENERATE_SHALLOW_TARBALLS`, this variable sets
diff --git a/lib/bb/fetch2/git.py b/lib/bb/fetch2/git.py
index 21f5f28a..f72173b9 100644
--- a/lib/bb/fetch2/git.py
+++ b/lib/bb/fetch2/git.py
@@ -196,7 +196,9 @@ class Git(FetchMethod):
         if ud.bareclone:
             ud.cloneflags += " --mirror"
 
-        ud.shallow_skip_fast = False
+        # Allow disabling the fast shallow path so DL_DIR keeps a local clone
+        # that can be incrementally updated in CI.
+        ud.shallow_skip_fast = d.getVar("BB_GIT_SHALLOW_SKIP_FAST") == "1"
         ud.shallow = d.getVar("BB_GIT_SHALLOW") == "1"
         ud.shallow_extra_refs = (d.getVar("BB_GIT_SHALLOW_EXTRA_REFS") or "").split()
         if 'tag' in ud.parm: