diff --git a/java-bigtable/scripts/sparse-bootstrap.py b/java-bigtable/scripts/sparse-bootstrap.py
new file mode 100755
index 000000000000..75a642d8f68b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/java-bigtable/scripts/sparse-bootstrap.py
@@ -0,0 +1,350 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""
+sparse-bootstrap.py
+
+Given a seed module directory, walks its parent-chain and BOM-import graph,
+adds the discovered dependency directories to the sparse checkout, and
+installs them into ~/.m2 in dependency order.
+
+Prerequisites:
+    git clone --sparse git@github.com:googleapis/google-cloud-java.git
+    cd google-cloud-java
+    git sparse-checkout set <seed-module>
+
+Usage (from repo root):
+    python java-bigtable/scripts/sparse-bootstrap.py <seed-dir> [--dry-run]
+
+Example:
+    python java-bigtable/scripts/sparse-bootstrap.py java-bigtable
+"""
+
+import io
+import os
+import subprocess
+import sys
+import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
+from collections import defaultdict, deque
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Optional
+
+NS = '{http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0}'
+
+
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class Coord:
+    group_id: Optional[str]
+    artifact_id: Optional[str]
+
+
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class GitBlob:
+    sha: str
+    path: Path
+
+
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class ParentRef:
+    coord: Coord
+    relative_path: str  # '' means <relativePath/> was explicit → fetch from ~/.m2
+
+
+@dataclass
+class InstallCommand:
+    cwd: str
+    cmd: list[str]
+
+
+# ── git helpers ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+def ls_tree_poms() -> list[GitBlob]:
+    """Return a GitBlob for every pom.xml in HEAD."""
+    # Each output line is:  <mode> <type> <sha>\t<path>
+    # e.g.: 100644 blob abc123def\tjava-bigtable/pom.xml
+    out = subprocess.run(
+        ['git', 'ls-tree', '-r', 'HEAD'],
+        capture_output=True, text=True, check=True,
+    ).stdout
+    results: list[GitBlob] = []
+    for line in out.splitlines():
+        meta, path = line.split('\t', 1)
+        if not path.endswith('pom.xml'):
+            continue
+        _, _, sha = meta.split()
+        results.append(GitBlob(sha=sha, path=Path(path)))
+    return results
+
+
+def batch_cat(pom_refs: list[GitBlob]) -> dict[Path, str]:
+    """Read many git blobs in one subprocess call. Returns {path: text}."""
+    if not pom_refs:
+        return {}
+    # stdin:  one sha per line
+    # stdout: for each sha, either:
+    #   "<sha> blob <size>\n<content bytes>\n"
+    #   "<sha> missing\n"
+    raw = subprocess.run(
+        ['git', 'cat-file', '--batch', '--buffer'],
+        input='\n'.join(ref.sha for ref in pom_refs).encode(),
+        capture_output=True,
+        check=True,
+    ).stdout
+    contents: dict[Path, str] = {}
+    buf = io.BytesIO(raw)
+    for ref in pom_refs:
+        header = buf.readline().decode()
+        expected = f'{ref.sha} blob '
+        if not header.startswith(expected):
+            raise RuntimeError(f'unexpected git cat-file response for {ref.path}: {header.strip()!r}')
+        size = int(header[len(expected):])
+        text = buf.read(size).decode('utf-8', errors='replace')
+        buf.read(1)  # trailing newline after each blob
+        if text.lstrip().startswith('<'):
+            contents[ref.path] = text
+        else:
+            print(f'  skipping non-XML pom: {ref.path}')
+    return contents
+
+
+# ── pom parsing ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+def t(name: str) -> str:
+    return f'{NS}{name}'
+
+
+def child_text(elem: ET.Element, path: str) -> Optional[str]:
+    e = elem.find('/'.join(t(tag) for tag in path.split('/')))
+    return e.text.strip() if e is not None and e.text else None
+
+
+def get_coordinates(root: ET.Element) -> Coord:
+    g = child_text(root, 'groupId') or child_text(root, 'parent/groupId')
+    a = child_text(root, 'artifactId')
+    return Coord(group_id=g, artifact_id=a)
+
+
+def get_parent(root: ET.Element) -> Optional[ParentRef]:
+    p = root.find(t('parent'))
+    if p is None:
+        return None
+    rel_elem = p.find(t('relativePath'))
+    if rel_elem is None:
+        rel = '../pom.xml'                   # Maven default when element is absent
+    else:
+        rel = (rel_elem.text or '').strip()  # empty string → remote
+    return ParentRef(
+        coord=Coord(
+            group_id=child_text(p, 'groupId'),
+            artifact_id=child_text(p, 'artifactId'),
+        ),
+        relative_path=rel,
+    )
+
+
+def get_bom_imports(root: ET.Element) -> list[Coord]:
+    """Coord for every scope=import dependency."""
+    results: list[Coord] = []
+    for dep in root.findall(
+        f'.//{t("dependencyManagement")}/{t("dependencies")}/{t("dependency")}'
+    ):
+        if child_text(dep, 'scope') == 'import':
+            g = child_text(dep, 'groupId')
+            a = child_text(dep, 'artifactId')
+            if g and a:
+                results.append(Coord(group_id=g, artifact_id=a))
+    return results
+
+
+# ── dependency discovery ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+def find_needed_modules(
+    seed_dir: Path,
+    pom_contents: dict[Path, str],
+    coord_to_pom: dict[Coord, Path],
+) -> tuple[set[Path], dict[Path, set[Path]]]:
+    """BFS from all poms under seed_dir following parent chain and BOM imports.
+
+    Returns:
+        needed_poms: set of pom paths outside seed_dir that must be installed
+        dep_edges:   {pom_path: {pom_paths it depends on}} for topological sort
+    """
+    needed: set[Path] = set()
+    dep_edges: dict[Path, set[Path]] = defaultdict(set)
+    visited: set[Path] = set()
+    queue: deque[Path] = deque()
+
+    def enqueue(pom_path: Path, required_by: Optional[Path] = None) -> None:
+        if required_by:
+            dep_edges[required_by].add(pom_path)
+        if pom_path in visited:
+            return
+        visited.add(pom_path)
+        needed.add(pom_path)
+        queue.append(pom_path)
+
+    # Seed: every pom under seed_dir — pre-visited so they won't enter `needed`
+    for path in pom_contents:
+        if path.is_relative_to(seed_dir):
+            visited.add(path)
+            queue.append(path)
+
+    while queue:
+        pom_path = queue.popleft()
+        root = ET.fromstring(pom_contents[pom_path])
+
+        # Follow <parent> chain
+        parent = get_parent(root)
+        if parent:
+            resolved = None
+            if parent.relative_path:
+                # normpath collapses '..' without making the path absolute
+                local_parent = Path(os.path.normpath(pom_path.parent / parent.relative_path))
+                # <relativePath> may point to a directory; Maven appends pom.xml in that case
+                if local_parent.name != 'pom.xml':
+                    local_parent = local_parent / 'pom.xml'
+                if local_parent in pom_contents:
+                    resolved = local_parent
+            # fall back to coordinate lookup if relativePath missing or not found locally
+            if resolved is None and parent.coord in coord_to_pom:
+                resolved = coord_to_pom[parent.coord]
+            if resolved is not None:
+                enqueue(resolved, required_by=pom_path)
+
+        # Follow BOM imports
+        for coord in get_bom_imports(root):
+            if coord in coord_to_pom:
+                enqueue(coord_to_pom[coord], required_by=pom_path)
+
+    return needed, dep_edges
+
+
+# ── topological sort ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+def topo_sort(
+    nodes: set[Path],
+    dep_edges: dict[Path, set[Path]],
+) -> list[Path]:
+    """Returns nodes ordered so each node appears after its dependencies."""
+    visited: set[Path] = set()
+    order: list[Path] = []
+
+    def visit(n: Path) -> None:
+        if n in visited:
+            return
+        visited.add(n)
+        for dep in sorted(dep_edges.get(n, [])):
+            visit(dep)
+        order.append(n)
+
+    for n in sorted(nodes):
+        visit(n)
+    return order
+
+
+# ── install command generation ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+def make_install_commands(sorted_poms: list[Path]) -> list[InstallCommand]:
+    """One mvn install command per top-level project, in dependency order."""
+    by_project: dict[str, list[str]] = defaultdict(list)
+    project_order: list[str] = []
+    seen_projects: set[str] = set()
+
+    for pom_path in sorted_poms:
+        project = pom_path.parts[0]
+        if project not in seen_projects:
+            seen_projects.add(project)
+            project_order.append(project)
+
+        pom_dir = pom_path.parent
+        rel = str(pom_dir.relative_to(project)) if pom_dir != Path(project) else '.'
+        if rel not in by_project[project]:
+            by_project[project].append(rel)
+
+    commands: list[InstallCommand] = []
+    for project in project_order:
+        sub_modules = [m for m in by_project[project] if m != '.']
+        cmd = ['mvn', 'install', '-T', '1C', '-DskipTests', '-P', 'quick-build']
+        if sub_modules:
+            for m in sub_modules:
+                cmd += ['-pl', m]
+            cmd.append('-am')
+        else:
+            cmd.append('-N')  # root pom only — skip recursive submodule build
+        commands.append(InstallCommand(cwd=project, cmd=cmd))
+    return commands
+
+
+# ── main ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+def main() -> None:
+    raw_args = [a for a in sys.argv[1:] if not a.startswith('--')]
+    dry_run = '--dry-run' in sys.argv
+
+    if not raw_args:
+        sys.exit(f'usage: {sys.argv[0]} <seed-module-dir> [--dry-run]')
+
+    seed_dir = Path(raw_args[0])
+
+    if not seed_dir.is_dir():
+        sys.exit(f'error: seed directory not found: {seed_dir!r}')
+    if not (seed_dir / 'pom.xml').is_file():
+        sys.exit(f'error: no pom.xml in {seed_dir!r}')
+
+    print(f'Seed module: {seed_dir}')
+
+    print('Listing pom.xml files in repo...')
+    pom_refs = ls_tree_poms()
+    print(f'  {len(pom_refs)} pom files')
+
+    print('Reading all pom files from git object store...')
+    pom_contents = batch_cat(pom_refs)
+    print(f'  {len(pom_contents)} pom files read')
+
+    print('Building coordinate → pom path index...')
+    coord_to_pom: dict[Coord, Path] = {}
+    for path, content in pom_contents.items():
+        root = ET.fromstring(content)
+        coord = get_coordinates(root)
+        if coord.group_id and coord.artifact_id:
+            coord_to_pom[coord] = path
+    print(f'  {len(coord_to_pom)} artifacts indexed')
+
+    print(f'Walking dependency graph from {seed_dir}...')
+    needed_poms, dep_edges = find_needed_modules(seed_dir, pom_contents, coord_to_pom)
+    sorted_poms = topo_sort(needed_poms, dep_edges)
+
+    # root-level files are always present in cone mode — only add subdirectories
+    top_dirs = sorted({p.parts[0] for p in needed_poms if len(p.parts) > 1})
+    print(f'\nTop-level directories needed:')
+    for d in top_dirs:
+        print(f'  {d}')
+
+    print(f'\nPom files to install ({len(sorted_poms)}):')
+    for p in sorted_poms:
+        print(f'  {p}')
+
+    install_cmds = make_install_commands(sorted_poms)
+    print('\nInstall commands (in order):')
+    for ic in install_cmds:
+        print(f'  (cd {ic.cwd} && {" ".join(ic.cmd)})')
+
+    if dry_run:
+        print('\n--dry-run: stopping before making changes')
+        return
+
+    if top_dirs:
+        print('\nUpdating sparse checkout...')
+        subprocess.run(['git', 'sparse-checkout', 'add'] + top_dirs, check=True)
+
+    print('\nInstalling...')
+    for ic in install_cmds:
+        print(f'\n>>> cd {ic.cwd} && {" ".join(ic.cmd)}')
+        result = subprocess.run(ic.cmd, cwd=ic.cwd)
+        if result.returncode != 0:
+            sys.exit(f'error: install failed in {ic.cwd}')
+
+    print(f'\nBootstrap complete. You can now develop in {seed_dir}.')
+
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    main()