1GIT-SUBMODULE(1) Git Manual GIT-SUBMODULE(1)
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6 git-submodule - Initialize, update or inspect submodules
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9 git submodule [--quiet] add [<options>] [--] <repository> [<path>]
10 git submodule [--quiet] status [--cached] [--recursive] [--] [<path>...]
11 git submodule [--quiet] init [--] [<path>...]
12 git submodule [--quiet] deinit [-f|--force] (--all|[--] <path>...)
13 git submodule [--quiet] update [<options>] [--] [<path>...]
14 git submodule [--quiet] summary [<options>] [--] [<path>...]
15 git submodule [--quiet] foreach [--recursive] <command>
16 git submodule [--quiet] sync [--recursive] [--] [<path>...]
17 git submodule [--quiet] absorbgitdirs [--] [<path>...]
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21 Inspects, updates and manages submodules.
22 For more information about submodules, see gitsubmodules(7).
24
26 add [-b <branch>] [-f|--force] [--name <name>] [--reference
27 <repository>] [--depth <depth>] [--] <repository> [<path>]
28 Add the given repository as a submodule at the given path to the
29 changeset to be committed next to the current project: the current
30 project is termed the "superproject".
31 <repository> is the URL of the new submodule’s origin repository.
33 This may be either an absolute URL, or (if it begins with ./ or
34 ../), the location relative to the superproject’s default remote
35 repository (Please note that to specify a repository foo.git which
36 is located right next to a superproject bar.git, you’ll have to use
37 ../foo.git instead of ./foo.git - as one might expect when
38 following the rules for relative URLs - because the evaluation of
39 relative URLs in Git is identical to that of relative directories).
40 The default remote is the remote of the remote-tracking branch of
42 the current branch. If no such remote-tracking branch exists or the
43 HEAD is detached, "origin" is assumed to be the default remote. If
44 the superproject doesn’t have a default remote configured the
45 superproject is its own authoritative upstream and the current
46 working directory is used instead.
47 The optional argument <path> is the relative location for the
49 cloned submodule to exist in the superproject. If <path> is not
50 given, the canonical part of the source repository is used ("repo"
51 for "/path/to/repo.git" and "foo" for "host.xz:foo/.git"). If
52 <path> exists and is already a valid Git repository, then it is
53 staged for commit without cloning. The <path> is also used as the
54 submodule’s logical name in its configuration entries unless --name
55 is used to specify a logical name.
56 The given URL is recorded into .gitmodules for use by subsequent
58 users cloning the superproject. If the URL is given relative to the
59 superproject’s repository, the presumption is the superproject and
60 submodule repositories will be kept together in the same relative
61 location, and only the superproject’s URL needs to be provided.
62 git-submodule will correctly locate the submodule using the
63 relative URL in .gitmodules.
64 status [--cached] [--recursive] [--] [<path>...]
66 Show the status of the submodules. This will print the SHA-1 of the
67 currently checked out commit for each submodule, along with the
68 submodule path and the output of git describe for the SHA-1. Each
69 SHA-1 will possibly be prefixed with - if the submodule is not
70 initialized, + if the currently checked out submodule commit does
71 not match the SHA-1 found in the index of the containing repository
72 and U if the submodule has merge conflicts.
73 If --recursive is specified, this command will recurse into nested
75 submodules, and show their status as well.
76 If you are only interested in changes of the currently initialized
78 submodules with respect to the commit recorded in the index or the
79 HEAD, git-status(1) and git-diff(1) will provide that information
80 too (and can also report changes to a submodule’s work tree).
81 init [--] [<path>...]
83 Initialize the submodules recorded in the index (which were added
84 and committed elsewhere) by setting submodule.$name.url in
85 .git/config. It uses the same setting from .gitmodules as a
86 template. If the URL is relative, it will be resolved using the
87 default remote. If there is no default remote, the current
88 repository will be assumed to be upstream.
89 Optional <path> arguments limit which submodules will be
91 initialized. If no path is specified and submodule.active has been
92 configured, submodules configured to be active will be initialized,
93 otherwise all submodules are initialized.
94 When present, it will also copy the value of
96 submodule.$name.update. This command does not alter existing
97 information in .git/config. You can then customize the submodule
98 clone URLs in .git/config for your local setup and proceed to git
99 submodule update; you can also just use git submodule update --init
100 without the explicit init step if you do not intend to customize
101 any submodule locations.
102 See the add subcommand for the definition of default remote.
104 deinit [-f|--force] (--all|[--] <path>...)
106 Unregister the given submodules, i.e. remove the whole
107 submodule.$name section from .git/config together with their work
108 tree. Further calls to git submodule update, git submodule foreach
109 and git submodule sync will skip any unregistered submodules until
110 they are initialized again, so use this command if you don’t want
111 to have a local checkout of the submodule in your working tree
112 anymore.
113 When the command is run without pathspec, it errors out, instead of
115 deinit-ing everything, to prevent mistakes.
116 If --force is specified, the submodule’s working tree will be
118 removed even if it contains local modifications.
119 If you really want to remove a submodule from the repository and
121 commit that use git-rm(1) instead. See gitsubmodules(7) for removal
122 options.
123 update [--init] [--remote] [-N|--no-fetch] [--[no-]recommend-shallow]
125 [-f|--force] [--checkout|--rebase|--merge] [--reference <repository>]
126 [--depth <depth>] [--recursive] [--jobs <n>] [--] [<path>...]
127 Update the registered submodules to match what the superproject
128 expects by cloning missing submodules and updating the working tree
129 of the submodules. The "updating" can be done in several ways
130 depending on command line options and the value of
131 submodule.<name>.update configuration variable. The command line
132 option takes precedence over the configuration variable. If neither
133 is given, a checkout is performed. The update procedures supported
134 both from the command line as well as through the
135 submodule.<name>.update configuration are:
136 checkout
138 the commit recorded in the superproject will be checked out in
139 the submodule on a detached HEAD.
140 If --force is specified, the submodule will be checked out
142 (using git checkout --force), even if the commit specified in
143 the index of the containing repository already matches the
144 commit checked out in the submodule.
145 rebase
147 the current branch of the submodule will be rebased onto the
148 commit recorded in the superproject.
149 merge
151 the commit recorded in the superproject will be merged into the
152 current branch in the submodule.
153 The following update procedures are only available via the
155 submodule.<name>.update configuration variable:
156 custom command
158 arbitrary shell command that takes a single argument (the sha1
159 of the commit recorded in the superproject) is executed. When
160 submodule.<name>.update is set to !command, the remainder after
161 the exclamation mark is the custom command.
162 none
164 the submodule is not updated.
165 If the submodule is not yet initialized, and you just want to use
167 the setting as stored in .gitmodules, you can automatically
168 initialize the submodule with the --init option.
169 If --recursive is specified, this command will recurse into the
171 registered submodules, and update any nested submodules within.
172 summary [--cached|--files] [(-n|--summary-limit) <n>] [commit] [--]
174 [<path>...]
175 Show commit summary between the given commit (defaults to HEAD) and
176 working tree/index. For a submodule in question, a series of
177 commits in the submodule between the given super project commit and
178 the index or working tree (switched by --cached) are shown. If the
179 option --files is given, show the series of commits in the
180 submodule between the index of the super project and the working
181 tree of the submodule (this option doesn’t allow to use the
182 --cached option or to provide an explicit commit).
183 Using the --submodule=log option with git-diff(1) will provide that
185 information too.
186 foreach [--recursive] <command>
188 Evaluates an arbitrary shell command in each checked out submodule.
189 The command has access to the variables $name, $path, $sha1 and
190 $toplevel: $name is the name of the relevant submodule section in
191 .gitmodules, $path is the name of the submodule directory relative
192 to the superproject, $sha1 is the commit as recorded in the
193 superproject, and $toplevel is the absolute path to the top-level
194 of the superproject. Any submodules defined in the superproject but
195 not checked out are ignored by this command. Unless given --quiet,
196 foreach prints the name of each submodule before evaluating the
197 command. If --recursive is given, submodules are traversed
198 recursively (i.e. the given shell command is evaluated in nested
199 submodules as well). A non-zero return from the command in any
200 submodule causes the processing to terminate. This can be
201 overridden by adding || : to the end of the command.
202 As an example, the command below will show the path and currently
204 checked out commit for each submodule:
205 git submodule foreach 'echo $path `git rev-parse HEAD`'
207 sync [--recursive] [--] [<path>...]
210 Synchronizes submodules' remote URL configuration setting to the
211 value specified in .gitmodules. It will only affect those
212 submodules which already have a URL entry in .git/config (that is
213 the case when they are initialized or freshly added). This is
214 useful when submodule URLs change upstream and you need to update
215 your local repositories accordingly.
216 git submodule sync synchronizes all submodules while git submodule
218 sync -- A synchronizes submodule "A" only.
219 If --recursive is specified, this command will recurse into the
221 registered submodules, and sync any nested submodules within.
222 absorbgitdirs
224 If a git directory of a submodule is inside the submodule, move the
225 git directory of the submodule into its superprojects
226 $GIT_DIR/modules path and then connect the git directory and its
227 working directory by setting the core.worktree and adding a .git
228 file pointing to the git directory embedded in the superprojects
229 git directory.
230 A repository that was cloned independently and later added as a
232 submodule or old setups have the submodules git directory inside
233 the submodule instead of embedded into the superprojects git
234 directory.
235 This command is recursive by default.
237
239 -q, --quiet
240 Only print error messages.
241 --progress
243 This option is only valid for add and update commands. Progress
244 status is reported on the standard error stream by default when it
245 is attached to a terminal, unless -q is specified. This flag forces
246 progress status even if the standard error stream is not directed
247 to a terminal.
248 --all
250 This option is only valid for the deinit command. Unregister all
251 submodules in the working tree.
252 -b, --branch
254 Branch of repository to add as submodule. The name of the branch is
255 recorded as submodule.<name>.branch in .gitmodules for update
256 --remote. A special value of . is used to indicate that the name
257 of the branch in the submodule should be the same name as the
258 current branch in the current repository.
259 -f, --force
261 This option is only valid for add, deinit and update commands. When
262 running add, allow adding an otherwise ignored submodule path. When
263 running deinit the submodule working trees will be removed even if
264 they contain local changes. When running update (only effective
265 with the checkout procedure), throw away local changes in
266 submodules when switching to a different commit; and always run a
267 checkout operation in the submodule, even if the commit listed in
268 the index of the containing repository matches the commit checked
269 out in the submodule.
270 --cached
272 This option is only valid for status and summary commands. These
273 commands typically use the commit found in the submodule HEAD, but
274 with this option, the commit stored in the index is used instead.
275 --files
277 This option is only valid for the summary command. This command
278 compares the commit in the index with that in the submodule HEAD
279 when this option is used.
280 -n, --summary-limit
282 This option is only valid for the summary command. Limit the
283 summary size (number of commits shown in total). Giving 0 will
284 disable the summary; a negative number means unlimited (the
285 default). This limit only applies to modified submodules. The size
286 is always limited to 1 for added/deleted/typechanged submodules.
287 --remote
289 This option is only valid for the update command. Instead of using
290 the superproject’s recorded SHA-1 to update the submodule, use the
291 status of the submodule’s remote-tracking branch. The remote used
292 is branch’s remote (branch.<name>.remote), defaulting to origin.
293 The remote branch used defaults to master, but the branch name may
294 be overridden by setting the submodule.<name>.branch option in
295 either .gitmodules or .git/config (with .git/config taking
296 precedence).
297 This works for any of the supported update procedures (--checkout,
299 --rebase, etc.). The only change is the source of the target SHA-1.
300 For example, submodule update --remote --merge will merge upstream
301 submodule changes into the submodules, while submodule update
302 --merge will merge superproject gitlink changes into the
303 submodules.
304 In order to ensure a current tracking branch state, update --remote
306 fetches the submodule’s remote repository before calculating the
307 SHA-1. If you don’t want to fetch, you should use submodule update
308 --remote --no-fetch.
309 Use this option to integrate changes from the upstream subproject
311 with your submodule’s current HEAD. Alternatively, you can run git
312 pull from the submodule, which is equivalent except for the remote
313 branch name: update --remote uses the default upstream repository
314 and submodule.<name>.branch, while git pull uses the submodule’s
315 branch.<name>.merge. Prefer submodule.<name>.branch if you want to
316 distribute the default upstream branch with the superproject and
317 branch.<name>.merge if you want a more native feel while working in
318 the submodule itself.
319 -N, --no-fetch
321 This option is only valid for the update command. Don’t fetch new
322 objects from the remote site.
323 --checkout
325 This option is only valid for the update command. Checkout the
326 commit recorded in the superproject on a detached HEAD in the
327 submodule. This is the default behavior, the main use of this
328 option is to override submodule.$name.update when set to a value
329 other than checkout. If the key submodule.$name.update is either
330 not explicitly set or set to checkout, this option is implicit.
331 --merge
333 This option is only valid for the update command. Merge the commit
334 recorded in the superproject into the current branch of the
335 submodule. If this option is given, the submodule’s HEAD will not
336 be detached. If a merge failure prevents this process, you will
337 have to resolve the resulting conflicts within the submodule with
338 the usual conflict resolution tools. If the key
339 submodule.$name.update is set to merge, this option is implicit.
340 --rebase
342 This option is only valid for the update command. Rebase the
343 current branch onto the commit recorded in the superproject. If
344 this option is given, the submodule’s HEAD will not be detached. If
345 a merge failure prevents this process, you will have to resolve
346 these failures with git-rebase(1). If the key
347 submodule.$name.update is set to rebase, this option is implicit.
348 --init
350 This option is only valid for the update command. Initialize all
351 submodules for which "git submodule init" has not been called so
352 far before updating.
353 --name
355 This option is only valid for the add command. It sets the
356 submodule’s name to the given string instead of defaulting to its
357 path. The name must be valid as a directory name and may not end
358 with a /.
359 --reference <repository>
361 This option is only valid for add and update commands. These
362 commands sometimes need to clone a remote repository. In this case,
363 this option will be passed to the git-clone(1) command.
364 NOTE: Do not use this option unless you have read the note for git-
366 clone(1)'s --reference, --shared, and --dissociate options
367 carefully.
368 --dissociate
370 This option is only valid for add and update commands. These
371 commands sometimes need to clone a remote repository. In this case,
372 this option will be passed to the git-clone(1) command.
373 NOTE: see the NOTE for the --reference option.
375 --recursive
377 This option is only valid for foreach, update, status and sync
378 commands. Traverse submodules recursively. The operation is
379 performed not only in the submodules of the current repo, but also
380 in any nested submodules inside those submodules (and so on).
381 --depth
383 This option is valid for add and update commands. Create a shallow
384 clone with a history truncated to the specified number of
385 revisions. See git-clone(1)
386 --[no-]recommend-shallow
388 This option is only valid for the update command. The initial clone
389 of a submodule will use the recommended submodule.<name>.shallow as
390 provided by the .gitmodules file by default. To ignore the
391 suggestions use --no-recommend-shallow.
392 -j <n>, --jobs <n>
394 This option is only valid for the update command. Clone new
395 submodules in parallel with as many jobs. Defaults to the
396 submodule.fetchJobs option.
397 <path>...
399 Paths to submodule(s). When specified this will restrict the
400 command to only operate on the submodules found at the specified
401 paths. (This argument is required with add).
402
404 When initializing submodules, a .gitmodules file in the top-level
405 directory of the containing repository is used to find the url of each
406 submodule. This file should be formatted in the same way as
407 $GIT_DIR/config. The key to each submodule url is
408 "submodule.$name.url". See gitmodules(5) for details.
409
411 gitsubmodules(7), gitmodules(5).
412
414 Part of the git(1) suite
415Git 2.18.1 05/14/2019 GIT-SUBMODULE(1)