diff --git a/.github/workflows/check-maintainers-sorted.yaml b/.github/workflows/check-maintainers-sorted.yaml
index eb7d22ea66bb..74012e266365 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/check-maintainers-sorted.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/check-maintainers-sorted.yaml
@@ -16,6 +16,10 @@ jobs:
         with:
           # pull_request_target checks out the base branch by default
           ref: refs/pull/${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}/merge
+          # Only these directories to perform the check
+          sparse-checkout: |
+            lib
+            maintainers
       - uses: cachix/install-nix-action@8887e596b4ee1134dae06b98d573bd674693f47c # v26
         with:
           # explicitly enable sandbox