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