diff --git a/.gitpod/setup-env.sh b/.gitpod/setup-env.sh
index fd23d458..606eda01 100755
--- a/.gitpod/setup-env.sh
+++ b/.gitpod/setup-env.sh
@@ -8,8 +8,15 @@ then
     export MOODLE_BRANCH=main
 fi
 
+if [ -z "$CLONEALL" ];
+then
+    FASTCLONE='--depth 1'
+else
+    FASTCLONE=""
+fi
+
 # Clone Moodle repository.
-cd "${GITPOD_REPO_ROOT}" && git clone --branch "${MOODLE_BRANCH}" --single-branch "${MOODLE_REPOSITORY}" moodle
+cd "${GITPOD_REPO_ROOT}" && git clone ${FASTCLONE} --branch "${MOODLE_BRANCH}" --single-branch "${MOODLE_REPOSITORY}" moodle
 
 # Download the data file (if given). It will be used to generate some data.
 if [ -n "$DATAFILE" ];
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 730f4d4a..295f7ece 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -343,6 +343,7 @@ The Moodle Gitpod template supports the following environment variables:
 * `MOODLE_BRANCH`. The Moodle branch to be cloned. If left undefined, the default branch `main` is employed.
 * `DATAFILE`. When specified, this feature URL initializes the Moodle site with essential data. The value should be URL encoded. The content of this file adheres to the [Behat generators format](https://moodledev.io/general/development/tools/generator#create-a-testing-scenario-using-behat-generators) for creating testing scenarios.
 * `INSTALLADMINER`. Add this variable, set to any value, to install [adminer](https://www.adminer.org/).
+* `CLONEALL`. If not set, a shallow clone is created, truncating the history to reduce the clone size. Set to `1` for a full clone.
 
 For a practical demonstration, launch a Gitpod workspace with the 'main' branch patch for [MDL-79912](https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-79912). Simply open the following URL in your web browser (note that MOODLE_REPOSITORY should be URL encoded). The password for the **admin** user is **test**: