6 git-submodule - Initialize, update or inspect submodules
12 'git submodule' [--quiet] [--cached]
13 'git submodule' [--quiet] add [<options>] [--] <repository> [<path>]
14 'git submodule' [--quiet] status [--cached] [--recursive] [--] [<path>...]
15 'git submodule' [--quiet] init [--] [<path>...]
16 'git submodule' [--quiet] deinit [-f|--force] (--all|[--] <path>...)
17 'git submodule' [--quiet] update [<options>] [--] [<path>...]
18 'git submodule' [--quiet] set-branch [<options>] [--] <path>
19 'git submodule' [--quiet] set-url [--] <path> <newurl>
20 'git submodule' [--quiet] summary [<options>] [--] [<path>...]
21 'git submodule' [--quiet] foreach [--recursive] <command>
22 'git submodule' [--quiet] sync [--recursive] [--] [<path>...]
23 'git submodule' [--quiet] absorbgitdirs [--] [<path>...]
28 Inspects, updates and manages submodules.
30 For more information about submodules, see linkgit:gitsubmodules[7].
34 With no arguments, shows the status of existing submodules. Several
35 subcommands are available to perform operations on the submodules.
37 add [-b <branch>] [-f|--force] [--name <name>] [--reference <repository>] [--depth <depth>] [--] <repository> [<path>]::
38 Add the given repository as a submodule at the given path
39 to the changeset to be committed next to the current
40 project: the current project is termed the "superproject".
42 <repository> is the URL of the new submodule's origin repository.
43 This may be either an absolute URL, or (if it begins with ./
44 or ../), the location relative to the superproject's default remote
45 repository (Please note that to specify a repository 'foo.git'
46 which is located right next to a superproject 'bar.git', you'll
47 have to use `../foo.git` instead of `./foo.git` - as one might expect
48 when following the rules for relative URLs - because the evaluation
49 of relative URLs in Git is identical to that of relative directories).
51 The default remote is the remote of the remote-tracking branch
52 of the current branch. If no such remote-tracking branch exists or
53 the HEAD is detached, "origin" is assumed to be the default remote.
54 If the superproject doesn't have a default remote configured
55 the superproject is its own authoritative upstream and the current
56 working directory is used instead.
58 The optional argument <path> is the relative location for the cloned
59 submodule to exist in the superproject. If <path> is not given, the
60 canonical part of the source repository is used ("repo" for
61 "/path/to/repo.git" and "foo" for "host.xz:foo/.git"). If <path>
62 exists and is already a valid Git repository, then it is staged
63 for commit without cloning. The <path> is also used as the submodule's
64 logical name in its configuration entries unless `--name` is used
65 to specify a logical name.
67 The given URL is recorded into `.gitmodules` for use by subsequent users
68 cloning the superproject. If the URL is given relative to the
69 superproject's repository, the presumption is the superproject and
70 submodule repositories will be kept together in the same relative
71 location, and only the superproject's URL needs to be provided.
72 git-submodule will correctly locate the submodule using the relative
75 status [--cached] [--recursive] [--] [<path>...]::
76 Show the status of the submodules. This will print the SHA-1 of the
77 currently checked out commit for each submodule, along with the
78 submodule path and the output of 'git describe' for the
79 SHA-1. Each SHA-1 will possibly be prefixed with `-` if the submodule is
80 not initialized, `+` if the currently checked out submodule commit
81 does not match the SHA-1 found in the index of the containing
82 repository and `U` if the submodule has merge conflicts.
84 If `--cached` is specified, this command will instead print the SHA-1
85 recorded in the superproject for each submodule.
87 If `--recursive` is specified, this command will recurse into nested
88 submodules, and show their status as well.
90 If you are only interested in changes of the currently initialized
91 submodules with respect to the commit recorded in the index or the HEAD,
92 linkgit:git-status[1] and linkgit:git-diff[1] will provide that information
93 too (and can also report changes to a submodule's work tree).
95 init [--] [<path>...]::
96 Initialize the submodules recorded in the index (which were
97 added and committed elsewhere) by setting `submodule.$name.url`
98 in `.git/config`, using the same setting from `.gitmodules` as
99 a template. If the URL is relative, it will be resolved using
100 the default remote. If there is no default remote, the current
101 repository will be assumed to be upstream.
103 Optional <path> arguments limit which submodules will be initialized.
104 If no path is specified and submodule.active has been configured, submodules
105 configured to be active will be initialized, otherwise all submodules are
108 It will also copy the value of `submodule.$name.update`, if present in
109 the `.gitmodules` file, to `.git/config`, but (1) this command does not
110 alter existing information in `.git/config`, and (2) `submodule.$name.update`
111 that is set to a custom command is *not* copied for security reasons.
113 You can then customize the submodule clone URLs in `.git/config`
114 for your local setup and proceed to `git submodule update`;
115 you can also just use `git submodule update --init` without
116 the explicit 'init' step if you do not intend to customize
117 any submodule locations.
119 See the add subcommand for the definition of default remote.
121 deinit [-f|--force] (--all|[--] <path>...)::
122 Unregister the given submodules, i.e. remove the whole
123 `submodule.$name` section from .git/config together with their work
124 tree. Further calls to `git submodule update`, `git submodule foreach`
125 and `git submodule sync` will skip any unregistered submodules until
126 they are initialized again, so use this command if you don't want to
127 have a local checkout of the submodule in your working tree anymore.
129 When the command is run without pathspec, it errors out,
130 instead of deinit-ing everything, to prevent mistakes.
132 If `--force` is specified, the submodule's working tree will
133 be removed even if it contains local modifications.
135 If you really want to remove a submodule from the repository and commit
136 that use linkgit:git-rm[1] instead. See linkgit:gitsubmodules[7] for removal
139 update [--init] [--remote] [-N|--no-fetch] [--[no-]recommend-shallow] [-f|--force] [--checkout|--rebase|--merge] [--reference <repository>] [--depth <depth>] [--recursive] [--jobs <n>] [--[no-]single-branch] [--filter <filter-spec>] [--] [<path>...]::
142 Update the registered submodules to match what the superproject
143 expects by cloning missing submodules, fetching missing commits
144 in submodules and updating the working tree of
145 the submodules. The "updating" can be done in several ways depending
146 on command line options and the value of `submodule.<name>.update`
147 configuration variable. The command line option takes precedence over
148 the configuration variable. If neither is given, a 'checkout' is performed.
149 (note: what is in `.gitmodules` file is irrelevant at this point;
150 see `git submodule init` above for how `.gitmodules` is used).
151 The 'update' procedures supported both from the command line as well as
152 through the `submodule.<name>.update` configuration are:
154 checkout;; the commit recorded in the superproject will be
155 checked out in the submodule on a detached HEAD.
157 If `--force` is specified, the submodule will be checked out (using
158 `git checkout --force`), even if the commit specified
159 in the index of the containing repository already matches the commit
160 checked out in the submodule.
162 rebase;; the current branch of the submodule will be rebased
163 onto the commit recorded in the superproject.
165 merge;; the commit recorded in the superproject will be merged
166 into the current branch in the submodule.
168 The following update procedures have additional limitations:
170 custom command;; mechanism for running arbitrary commands with the
171 commit ID as an argument. Specifically, if the
172 `submodule.<name>.update` configuration variable is set to
173 `!custom command`, the object name of the commit recorded in the
174 superproject for the submodule is appended to the `custom command`
175 string and executed. Note that this mechanism is not supported in
176 the `.gitmodules` file or on the command line.
178 none;; the submodule is not updated. This update procedure is not
179 allowed on the command line.
181 If the submodule is not yet initialized, and you just want to use the
182 setting as stored in `.gitmodules`, you can automatically initialize the
183 submodule with the `--init` option.
185 If `--recursive` is specified, this command will recurse into the
186 registered submodules, and update any nested submodules within.
188 If `--filter <filter-spec>` is specified, the given partial clone filter will be
189 applied to the submodule. See linkgit:git-rev-list[1] for details on filter
192 set-branch (-b|--branch) <branch> [--] <path>::
193 set-branch (-d|--default) [--] <path>::
194 Sets the default remote tracking branch for the submodule. The
195 `--branch` option allows the remote branch to be specified. The
196 `--default` option removes the submodule.<name>.branch configuration
197 key, which causes the tracking branch to default to the remote 'HEAD'.
199 set-url [--] <path> <newurl>::
200 Sets the URL of the specified submodule to <newurl>. Then, it will
201 automatically synchronize the submodule's new remote URL
204 summary [--cached|--files] [(-n|--summary-limit) <n>] [commit] [--] [<path>...]::
205 Show commit summary between the given commit (defaults to HEAD) and
206 working tree/index. For a submodule in question, a series of commits
207 in the submodule between the given super project commit and the
208 index or working tree (switched by `--cached`) are shown. If the option
209 `--files` is given, show the series of commits in the submodule between
210 the index of the super project and the working tree of the submodule
211 (this option doesn't allow to use the `--cached` option or to provide an
214 Using the `--submodule=log` option with linkgit:git-diff[1] will provide that
217 foreach [--recursive] <command>::
218 Evaluates an arbitrary shell command in each checked out submodule.
219 The command has access to the variables $name, $sm_path, $displaypath,
221 $name is the name of the relevant submodule section in `.gitmodules`,
222 $sm_path is the path of the submodule as recorded in the immediate
223 superproject, $displaypath contains the relative path from the
224 current working directory to the submodules root directory,
225 $sha1 is the commit as recorded in the immediate
226 superproject, and $toplevel is the absolute path to the top-level
227 of the immediate superproject.
228 Note that to avoid conflicts with '$PATH' on Windows, the '$path'
229 variable is now a deprecated synonym of '$sm_path' variable.
230 Any submodules defined in the superproject but not checked out are
231 ignored by this command. Unless given `--quiet`, foreach prints the name
232 of each submodule before evaluating the command.
233 If `--recursive` is given, submodules are traversed recursively (i.e.
234 the given shell command is evaluated in nested submodules as well).
235 A non-zero return from the command in any submodule causes
236 the processing to terminate. This can be overridden by adding '|| :'
237 to the end of the command.
239 As an example, the command below will show the path and currently
240 checked out commit for each submodule:
243 git submodule foreach 'echo $sm_path `git rev-parse HEAD`'
246 sync [--recursive] [--] [<path>...]::
247 Synchronizes submodules' remote URL configuration setting
248 to the value specified in `.gitmodules`. It will only affect those
249 submodules which already have a URL entry in .git/config (that is the
250 case when they are initialized or freshly added). This is useful when
251 submodule URLs change upstream and you need to update your local
252 repositories accordingly.
254 `git submodule sync` synchronizes all submodules while
255 `git submodule sync -- A` synchronizes submodule "A" only.
257 If `--recursive` is specified, this command will recurse into the
258 registered submodules, and sync any nested submodules within.
261 If a git directory of a submodule is inside the submodule,
262 move the git directory of the submodule into its superproject's
263 `$GIT_DIR/modules` path and then connect the git directory and
264 its working directory by setting the `core.worktree` and adding
265 a .git file pointing to the git directory embedded in the
266 superprojects git directory.
268 A repository that was cloned independently and later added as a submodule or
269 old setups have the submodules git directory inside the submodule instead of
270 embedded into the superprojects git directory.
272 This command is recursive by default.
278 Only print error messages.
281 This option is only valid for add and update commands.
282 Progress status is reported on the standard error stream
283 by default when it is attached to a terminal, unless -q
284 is specified. This flag forces progress status even if the
285 standard error stream is not directed to a terminal.
288 This option is only valid for the deinit command. Unregister all
289 submodules in the working tree.
293 Branch of repository to add as submodule.
294 The name of the branch is recorded as `submodule.<name>.branch` in
295 `.gitmodules` for `update --remote`. A special value of `.` is used to
296 indicate that the name of the branch in the submodule should be the
297 same name as the current branch in the current repository. If the
298 option is not specified, it defaults to the remote 'HEAD'.
302 This option is only valid for add, deinit and update commands.
303 When running add, allow adding an otherwise ignored submodule path.
304 When running deinit the submodule working trees will be removed even
305 if they contain local changes.
306 When running update (only effective with the checkout procedure),
307 throw away local changes in submodules when switching to a
308 different commit; and always run a checkout operation in the
309 submodule, even if the commit listed in the index of the
310 containing repository matches the commit checked out in the
314 This option is only valid for status and summary commands. These
315 commands typically use the commit found in the submodule HEAD, but
316 with this option, the commit stored in the index is used instead.
319 This option is only valid for the summary command. This command
320 compares the commit in the index with that in the submodule HEAD
321 when this option is used.
325 This option is only valid for the summary command.
326 Limit the summary size (number of commits shown in total).
327 Giving 0 will disable the summary; a negative number means unlimited
328 (the default). This limit only applies to modified submodules. The
329 size is always limited to 1 for added/deleted/typechanged submodules.
332 This option is only valid for the update command. Instead of using
333 the superproject's recorded SHA-1 to update the submodule, use the
334 status of the submodule's remote-tracking branch. The remote used
335 is branch's remote (`branch.<name>.remote`), defaulting to `origin`.
336 The remote branch used defaults to the remote `HEAD`, but the branch
337 name may be overridden by setting the `submodule.<name>.branch`
338 option in either `.gitmodules` or `.git/config` (with `.git/config`
341 This works for any of the supported update procedures (`--checkout`,
342 `--rebase`, etc.). The only change is the source of the target SHA-1.
343 For example, `submodule update --remote --merge` will merge upstream
344 submodule changes into the submodules, while `submodule update
345 --merge` will merge superproject gitlink changes into the submodules.
347 In order to ensure a current tracking branch state, `update --remote`
348 fetches the submodule's remote repository before calculating the
349 SHA-1. If you don't want to fetch, you should use `submodule update
350 --remote --no-fetch`.
352 Use this option to integrate changes from the upstream subproject with
353 your submodule's current HEAD. Alternatively, you can run `git pull`
354 from the submodule, which is equivalent except for the remote branch
355 name: `update --remote` uses the default upstream repository and
356 `submodule.<name>.branch`, while `git pull` uses the submodule's
357 `branch.<name>.merge`. Prefer `submodule.<name>.branch` if you want
358 to distribute the default upstream branch with the superproject and
359 `branch.<name>.merge` if you want a more native feel while working in
360 the submodule itself.
364 This option is only valid for the update command.
365 Don't fetch new objects from the remote site.
368 This option is only valid for the update command.
369 Checkout the commit recorded in the superproject on a detached HEAD
370 in the submodule. This is the default behavior, the main use of
371 this option is to override `submodule.$name.update` when set to
372 a value other than `checkout`.
373 If the key `submodule.$name.update` is either not explicitly set or
374 set to `checkout`, this option is implicit.
377 This option is only valid for the update command.
378 Merge the commit recorded in the superproject into the current branch
379 of the submodule. If this option is given, the submodule's HEAD will
380 not be detached. If a merge failure prevents this process, you will
381 have to resolve the resulting conflicts within the submodule with the
382 usual conflict resolution tools.
383 If the key `submodule.$name.update` is set to `merge`, this option is
387 This option is only valid for the update command.
388 Rebase the current branch onto the commit recorded in the
389 superproject. If this option is given, the submodule's HEAD will not
390 be detached. If a merge failure prevents this process, you will have
391 to resolve these failures with linkgit:git-rebase[1].
392 If the key `submodule.$name.update` is set to `rebase`, this option is
396 This option is only valid for the update command.
397 Initialize all submodules for which "git submodule init" has not been
398 called so far before updating.
401 This option is only valid for the add command. It sets the submodule's
402 name to the given string instead of defaulting to its path. The name
403 must be valid as a directory name and may not end with a '/'.
405 --reference <repository>::
406 This option is only valid for add and update commands. These
407 commands sometimes need to clone a remote repository. In this case,
408 this option will be passed to the linkgit:git-clone[1] command.
410 *NOTE*: Do *not* use this option unless you have read the note
411 for linkgit:git-clone[1]'s `--reference`, `--shared`, and `--dissociate`
415 This option is only valid for add and update commands. These
416 commands sometimes need to clone a remote repository. In this case,
417 this option will be passed to the linkgit:git-clone[1] command.
419 *NOTE*: see the NOTE for the `--reference` option.
422 This option is only valid for foreach, update, status and sync commands.
423 Traverse submodules recursively. The operation is performed not
424 only in the submodules of the current repo, but also
425 in any nested submodules inside those submodules (and so on).
428 This option is valid for add and update commands. Create a 'shallow'
429 clone with a history truncated to the specified number of revisions.
430 See linkgit:git-clone[1]
432 --[no-]recommend-shallow::
433 This option is only valid for the update command.
434 The initial clone of a submodule will use the recommended
435 `submodule.<name>.shallow` as provided by the `.gitmodules` file
436 by default. To ignore the suggestions use `--no-recommend-shallow`.
440 This option is only valid for the update command.
441 Clone new submodules in parallel with as many jobs.
442 Defaults to the `submodule.fetchJobs` option.
444 --[no-]single-branch::
445 This option is only valid for the update command.
446 Clone only one branch during update: HEAD or one specified by --branch.
449 Paths to submodule(s). When specified this will restrict the command
450 to only operate on the submodules found at the specified paths.
451 (This argument is required with add).
455 When initializing submodules, a `.gitmodules` file in the top-level directory
456 of the containing repository is used to find the url of each submodule.
457 This file should be formatted in the same way as `$GIT_DIR/config`. The key
458 to each submodule url is "submodule.$name.url". See linkgit:gitmodules[5]
463 linkgit:gitsubmodules[7], linkgit:gitmodules[5].
467 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite