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Under GNU General Public License
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GIT-SUBMODULE(1) Git Manual GIT-SUBMODULE(1)
NAME
git-submodule - Initialize, update or inspect submodules
SYNOPSIS
git submodule [--quiet] [--cached]
git submodule [--quiet] add [<options>] [--] <repository> [<path>]
git submodule [--quiet] status [--cached] [--recursive] [--] [<path>...]
git submodule [--quiet] init [--] [<path>...]
git submodule [--quiet] deinit [-f|--force] (--all|[--] <path>...)
git submodule [--quiet] update [<options>] [--] [<path>...]
git submodule [--quiet] set-branch [<options>] [--] <path>
git submodule [--quiet] set-url [--] <path> <newurl>
git submodule [--quiet] summary [<options>] [--] [<path>...]
git submodule [--quiet] foreach [--recursive] <command>
git submodule [--quiet] sync [--recursive] [--] [<path>...]
git submodule [--quiet] absorbgitdirs [--] [<path>...]
DESCRIPTION
Inspects, updates and manages submodules.
For more information about submodules, see gitsubmodules(7).
COMMANDS
With no arguments, shows the status of existing submodules. Several subcommands are
available to perform operations on the submodules.
add [-b <branch>] [-f|--force] [--name <name>] [--reference <repository>] [--depth
<depth>] [--] <repository> [<path>]
Add the given repository as a submodule at the given path to the changeset to be
committed next to the current project: the current project is termed the
"superproject".
<repository> is the URL of the new submodule's origin repository. This may be either
an absolute URL, or (if it begins with ./ or ../), the location relative to the
superproject's default remote repository (Please note that to specify a repository
foo.git which is located right next to a superproject bar.git, you'll have to use
../foo.git instead of ./foo.git - as one might expect when following the rules for
relative URLs - because the evaluation of relative URLs in Git is identical to that of
relative directories).
The default remote is the remote of the remote-tracking branch of the current branch.
If no such remote-tracking branch exists or the HEAD is detached, "origin" is assumed
to be the default remote. If the superproject doesn't have a default remote configured
the superproject is its own authoritative upstream and the current working directory
is used instead.
The optional argument <path> is the relative location for the cloned submodule to
exist in the superproject. If <path> is not given, the canonical part of the source
repository is used ("repo" for "/path/to/repo.git" and "foo" for "host.xz:foo/.git").
If <path> exists and is already a valid Git repository, then it is staged for commit
without cloning. The <path> is also used as the submodule's logical name in its
configuration entries unless --name is used to specify a logical name.
The given URL is recorded into .gitmodules for use by subsequent users cloning the
superproject. If the URL is given relative to the superproject's repository, the
presumption is the superproject and submodule repositories will be kept together in
the same relative location, and only the superproject's URL needs to be provided.
git-submodule will correctly locate the submodule using the relative URL in
.gitmodules.
status [--cached] [--recursive] [--] [<path>...]
Show the status of the submodules. This will print the SHA-1 of the currently checked
out commit for each submodule, along with the submodule path and the output of git
describe for the SHA-1. Each SHA-1 will possibly be prefixed with - if the submodule
is not initialized, + if the currently checked out submodule commit does not match the
SHA-1 found in the index of the containing repository and U if the submodule has merge
conflicts.
If --cached is specified, this command will instead print the SHA-1 recorded in the
superproject for each submodule.
If --recursive is specified, this command will recurse into nested submodules, and
show their status as well.
If you are only interested in changes of the currently initialized submodules with
respect to the commit recorded in the index or the HEAD, git-status(1) and git-diff(1)
will provide that information too (and can also report changes to a submodule's work
tree).
init [--] [<path>...]
Initialize the submodules recorded in the index (which were added and committed
elsewhere) by setting submodule.$name.url in .git/config. It uses the same setting
from .gitmodules as a template. If the URL is relative, it will be resolved using the
default remote. If there is no default remote, the current repository will be assumed
to be upstream.
Optional <path> arguments limit which submodules will be initialized. If no path is
specified and submodule.active has been configured, submodules configured to be active
will be initialized, otherwise all submodules are initialized.
When present, it will also copy the value of submodule.$name.update. This command does
not alter existing information in .git/config. You can then customize the submodule
clone URLs in .git/config for your local setup and proceed to git submodule update;
you can also just use git submodule update --init without the explicit init step if
you do not intend to customize any submodule locations.
See the add subcommand for the definition of default remote.
deinit [-f|--force] (--all|[--] <path>...)
Unregister the given submodules, i.e. remove the whole submodule.$name section from
.git/config together with their work tree. Further calls to git submodule update, git
submodule foreach and git submodule sync will skip any unregistered submodules until
they are initialized again, so use this command if you don't want to have a local
checkout of the submodule in your working tree anymore.
When the command is run without pathspec, it errors out, instead of deinit-ing
everything, to prevent mistakes.
If --force is specified, the submodule's working tree will be removed even if it
contains local modifications.
If you really want to remove a submodule from the repository and commit that use git-
rm(1) instead. See gitsubmodules(7) for removal options.
update [--init] [--remote] [-N|--no-fetch] [--[no-]recommend-shallow] [-f|--force]
[--checkout|--rebase|--merge] [--reference <repository>] [--depth <depth>] [--recursive]
[--jobs <n>] [--[no-]single-branch] [--] [<path>...]
Update the registered submodules to match what the superproject expects by cloning
missing submodules, fetching missing commits in submodules and updating the working
tree of the submodules. The "updating" can be done in several ways depending on
command line options and the value of submodule.<name>.update configuration variable.
The command line option takes precedence over the configuration variable. If neither
is given, a checkout is performed. The update procedures supported both from the
command line as well as through the submodule.<name>.update configuration are:
checkout
the commit recorded in the superproject will be checked out in the submodule on a
detached HEAD.
If --force is specified, the submodule will be checked out (using git checkout
--force), even if the commit specified in the index of the containing repository
already matches the commit checked out in the submodule.
rebase
the current branch of the submodule will be rebased onto the commit recorded in
the superproject.
merge
the commit recorded in the superproject will be merged into the current branch in
the submodule.
The following update procedures are only available via the submodule.<name>.update
configuration variable:
custom command
arbitrary shell command that takes a single argument (the sha1 of the commit
recorded in the superproject) is executed. When submodule.<name>.update is set to
!command, the remainder after the exclamation mark is the custom command.
none
the submodule is not updated.
If the submodule is not yet initialized, and you just want to use the setting as
stored in .gitmodules, you can automatically initialize the submodule with the --init
option.
If --recursive is specified, this command will recurse into the registered submodules,
and update any nested submodules within.
set-branch (-b|--branch) <branch> [--] <path>, set-branch (-d|--default) [--] <path>
Sets the default remote tracking branch for the submodule. The --branch option allows
the remote branch to be specified. The --default option removes the
submodule.<name>.branch configuration key, which causes the tracking branch to default
to the remote HEAD.
set-url [--] <path> <newurl>
Sets the URL of the specified submodule to <newurl>. Then, it will automatically
synchronize the submodule's new remote URL configuration.
summary [--cached|--files] [(-n|--summary-limit) <n>] [commit] [--] [<path>...]
Show commit summary between the given commit (defaults to HEAD) and working
tree/index. For a submodule in question, a series of commits in the submodule between
the given super project commit and the index or working tree (switched by --cached)
are shown. If the option --files is given, show the series of commits in the submodule
between the index of the super project and the working tree of the submodule (this
option doesn't allow to use the --cached option or to provide an explicit commit).
Using the --submodule=log option with git-diff(1) will provide that information too.
foreach [--recursive] <command>
Evaluates an arbitrary shell command in each checked out submodule. The command has
access to the variables $name, $sm_path, $displaypath, $sha1 and $toplevel: $name is
the name of the relevant submodule section in .gitmodules, $sm_path is the path of the
submodule as recorded in the immediate superproject, $displaypath contains the
relative path from the current working directory to the submodules root directory,
$sha1 is the commit as recorded in the immediate superproject, and $toplevel is the
absolute path to the top-level of the immediate superproject. Note that to avoid
conflicts with $PATH on Windows, the $path variable is now a deprecated synonym of
$sm_path variable. Any submodules defined in the superproject but not checked out are
ignored by this command. Unless given --quiet, foreach prints the name of each
submodule before evaluating the command. If --recursive is given, submodules are
traversed recursively (i.e. the given shell command is evaluated in nested submodules
as well). A non-zero return from the command in any submodule causes the processing to
terminate. This can be overridden by adding || : to the end of the command.
As an example, the command below will show the path and currently checked out commit
for each submodule:
git submodule foreach 'echo $sm_path `git rev-parse HEAD`'
sync [--recursive] [--] [<path>...]
Synchronizes submodules' remote URL configuration setting to the value specified in
.gitmodules. It will only affect those submodules which already have a URL entry in
.git/config (that is the case when they are initialized or freshly added). This is
useful when submodule URLs change upstream and you need to update your local
repositories accordingly.
git submodule sync synchronizes all submodules while git submodule sync -- A
synchronizes submodule "A" only.
If --recursive is specified, this command will recurse into the registered submodules,
and sync any nested submodules within.
absorbgitdirs
If a git directory of a submodule is inside the submodule, move the git directory of
the submodule into its superproject's $GIT_DIR/modules path and then connect the git
directory and its working directory by setting the core.worktree and adding a .git
file pointing to the git directory embedded in the superprojects git directory.
A repository that was cloned independently and later added as a submodule or old
setups have the submodules git directory inside the submodule instead of embedded into
the superprojects git directory.
This command is recursive by default.
OPTIONS
-q, --quiet
Only print error messages.
--progress
This option is only valid for add and update commands. Progress status is reported on
the standard error stream by default when it is attached to a terminal, unless -q is
specified. This flag forces progress status even if the standard error stream is not
directed to a terminal.
--all
This option is only valid for the deinit command. Unregister all submodules in the
working tree.
-b <branch>, --branch <branch>
Branch of repository to add as submodule. The name of the branch is recorded as
submodule.<name>.branch in .gitmodules for update --remote. A special value of . is
used to indicate that the name of the branch in the submodule should be the same name
as the current branch in the current repository. If the option is not specified, it
defaults to the remote HEAD.
-f, --force
This option is only valid for add, deinit and update commands. When running add, allow
adding an otherwise ignored submodule path. When running deinit the submodule working
trees will be removed even if they contain local changes. When running update (only
effective with the checkout procedure), throw away local changes in submodules when
switching to a different commit; and always run a checkout operation in the submodule,
even if the commit listed in the index of the containing repository matches the commit
checked out in the submodule.
--cached
This option is only valid for status and summary commands. These commands typically
use the commit found in the submodule HEAD, but with this option, the commit stored in
the index is used instead.
--files
This option is only valid for the summary command. This command compares the commit in
the index with that in the submodule HEAD when this option is used.
-n, --summary-limit
This option is only valid for the summary command. Limit the summary size (number of
commits shown in total). Giving 0 will disable the summary; a negative number means
unlimited (the default). This limit only applies to modified submodules. The size is
always limited to 1 for added/deleted/typechanged submodules.
--remote
This option is only valid for the update command. Instead of using the superproject's
recorded SHA-1 to update the submodule, use the status of the submodule's
remote-tracking branch. The remote used is branch's remote (branch.<name>.remote),
defaulting to origin. The remote branch used defaults to the remote HEAD, but the
branch name may be overridden by setting the submodule.<name>.branch option in either
.gitmodules or .git/config (with .git/config taking precedence).
This works for any of the supported update procedures (--checkout, --rebase, etc.).
The only change is the source of the target SHA-1. For example, submodule update
--remote --merge will merge upstream submodule changes into the submodules, while
submodule update --merge will merge superproject gitlink changes into the submodules.
In order to ensure a current tracking branch state, update --remote fetches the
submodule's remote repository before calculating the SHA-1. If you don't want to
fetch, you should use submodule update --remote --no-fetch.
Use this option to integrate changes from the upstream subproject with your
submodule's current HEAD. Alternatively, you can run git pull from the submodule,
which is equivalent except for the remote branch name: update --remote uses the
default upstream repository and submodule.<name>.branch, while git pull uses the
submodule's branch.<name>.merge. Prefer submodule.<name>.branch if you want to
distribute the default upstream branch with the superproject and branch.<name>.merge
if you want a more native feel while working in the submodule itself.
-N, --no-fetch
This option is only valid for the update command. Don't fetch new objects from the
remote site.
--checkout
This option is only valid for the update command. Checkout the commit recorded in the
superproject on a detached HEAD in the submodule. This is the default behavior, the
main use of this option is to override submodule.$name.update when set to a value
other than checkout. If the key submodule.$name.update is either not explicitly set or
set to checkout, this option is implicit.
--merge
This option is only valid for the update command. Merge the commit recorded in the
superproject into the current branch of the submodule. If this option is given, the
submodule's HEAD will not be detached. If a merge failure prevents this process, you
will have to resolve the resulting conflicts within the submodule with the usual
conflict resolution tools. If the key submodule.$name.update is set to merge, this
option is implicit.
--rebase
This option is only valid for the update command. Rebase the current branch onto the
commit recorded in the superproject. If this option is given, the submodule's HEAD
will not be detached. If a merge failure prevents this process, you will have to
resolve these failures with git-rebase(1). If the key submodule.$name.update is set to
rebase, this option is implicit.
--init
This option is only valid for the update command. Initialize all submodules for which
"git submodule init" has not been called so far before updating.
--name
This option is only valid for the add command. It sets the submodule's name to the
given string instead of defaulting to its path. The name must be valid as a directory
name and may not end with a /.
--reference <repository>
This option is only valid for add and update commands. These commands sometimes need
to clone a remote repository. In this case, this option will be passed to the git-
clone(1) command.
NOTE: Do not use this option unless you have read the note for git-clone(1)'s
--reference, --shared, and --dissociate options carefully.
--dissociate
This option is only valid for add and update commands. These commands sometimes need
to clone a remote repository. In this case, this option will be passed to the git-
clone(1) command.
NOTE: see the NOTE for the --reference option.
--recursive
This option is only valid for foreach, update, status and sync commands. Traverse
submodules recursively. The operation is performed not only in the submodules of the
current repo, but also in any nested submodules inside those submodules (and so on).
--depth
This option is valid for add and update commands. Create a shallow clone with a
history truncated to the specified number of revisions. See git-clone(1)
--[no-]recommend-shallow
This option is only valid for the update command. The initial clone of a submodule
will use the recommended submodule.<name>.shallow as provided by the .gitmodules file
by default. To ignore the suggestions use --no-recommend-shallow.
-j <n>, --jobs <n>
This option is only valid for the update command. Clone new submodules in parallel
with as many jobs. Defaults to the submodule.fetchJobs option.
--[no-]single-branch
This option is only valid for the update command. Clone only one branch during update:
HEAD or one specified by --branch.
<path>...
Paths to submodule(s). When specified this will restrict the command to only operate
on the submodules found at the specified paths. (This argument is required with add).
FILES
When initializing submodules, a .gitmodules file in the top-level directory of the
containing repository is used to find the url of each submodule. This file should be
formatted in the same way as $GIT_DIR/config. The key to each submodule url is
"submodule.$name.url". See gitmodules(5) for details.
SEE ALSO
gitsubmodules(7), gitmodules(5).
GIT
Part of the git(1) suite
Git 2.34.1 07/09/2025 GIT-SUBMODULE(1)
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On Apache
Under GNU General Public License
2025-11-29 20:52 @216.73.216.105 CrawledBy Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)