diff --git a/read-cache.c b/read-cache.c
index 9048ef9e90..f5d4385c40 100644
--- a/read-cache.c
+++ b/read-cache.c
@@ -3069,7 +3069,7 @@ static int do_write_locked_index(struct index_state *istate, struct lock_file *l
 	int ret;
 	int was_full = !istate->sparse_index;
 
-	ret = convert_to_sparse(istate);
+	ret = convert_to_sparse(istate, 0);
 
 	if (ret) {
 		warning(_("failed to convert to a sparse-index"));
@@ -3182,7 +3182,7 @@ static int write_shared_index(struct index_state *istate,
 	int ret, was_full = !istate->sparse_index;
 
 	move_cache_to_base_index(istate);
-	convert_to_sparse(istate);
+	convert_to_sparse(istate, 0);
 
 	trace2_region_enter_printf("index", "shared/do_write_index",
 				   the_repository, "%s", get_tempfile_path(*temp));
diff --git a/sparse-index.c b/sparse-index.c
index 23f7c3bd36..0bc45f60ac 100644
--- a/sparse-index.c
+++ b/sparse-index.c
@@ -122,30 +122,37 @@ static int index_has_unmerged_entries(struct index_state *istate)
 	return 0;
 }
 
-int convert_to_sparse(struct index_state *istate)
+int convert_to_sparse(struct index_state *istate, int flags)
 {
 	int test_env;
-	if (istate->split_index || istate->sparse_index || !istate->cache_nr ||
+	if (istate->sparse_index || !istate->cache_nr ||
 	    !core_apply_sparse_checkout || !core_sparse_checkout_cone)
 		return 0;
 
 	if (!istate->repo)
 		istate->repo = the_repository;
 
-	/*
-	 * The GIT_TEST_SPARSE_INDEX environment variable triggers the
-	 * index.sparse config variable to be on.
-	 */
-	test_env = git_env_bool("GIT_TEST_SPARSE_INDEX", -1);
-	if (test_env >= 0)
-		set_sparse_index_config(istate->repo, test_env);
+	if (!(flags & SPARSE_INDEX_MEMORY_ONLY)) {
+		/*
+		 * The sparse index is not (yet) integrated with a split index.
+		 */
+		if (istate->split_index)
+			return 0;
+		/*
+		 * The GIT_TEST_SPARSE_INDEX environment variable triggers the
+		 * index.sparse config variable to be on.
+		 */
+		test_env = git_env_bool("GIT_TEST_SPARSE_INDEX", -1);
+		if (test_env >= 0)
+			set_sparse_index_config(istate->repo, test_env);
 
-	/*
-	 * Only convert to sparse if index.sparse is set.
-	 */
-	prepare_repo_settings(istate->repo);
-	if (!istate->repo->settings.sparse_index)
-		return 0;
+		/*
+		 * Only convert to sparse if index.sparse is set.
+		 */
+		prepare_repo_settings(istate->repo);
+		if (!istate->repo->settings.sparse_index)
+			return 0;
+	}
 
 	if (init_sparse_checkout_patterns(istate))
 		return 0;
diff --git a/sparse-index.h b/sparse-index.h
index 1115a0d7dd..9f3d7bc7fa 100644
--- a/sparse-index.h
+++ b/sparse-index.h
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
 #define SPARSE_INDEX_H__
 
 struct index_state;
-int convert_to_sparse(struct index_state *istate);
+#define SPARSE_INDEX_MEMORY_ONLY (1 << 0)
+int convert_to_sparse(struct index_state *istate, int flags);
 
 /*
  * Some places in the codebase expect to search for a specific path.