6 git-submodule - Initialize, update or inspect submodules
12 'git submodule' [--quiet] add [-b <branch>] [-f|--force] [--name <name>]
13 [--reference <repository>] [--depth <depth>] [--] <repository> [<path>]
14 'git submodule' [--quiet] status [--cached] [--recursive] [--] [<path>...]
15 'git submodule' [--quiet] init [--] [<path>...]
16 'git submodule' [--quiet] deinit [-f|--force] [--] <path>...
17 'git submodule' [--quiet] update [--init] [--remote] [-N|--no-fetch]
18 [-f|--force] [--rebase|--merge] [--reference <repository>]
19 [--depth <depth>] [--recursive] [--] [<path>...]
20 'git submodule' [--quiet] summary [--cached|--files] [(-n|--summary-limit) <n>]
21 [commit] [--] [<path>...]
22 'git submodule' [--quiet] foreach [--recursive] <command>
23 'git submodule' [--quiet] sync [--recursive] [--] [<path>...]
28 Inspects, updates and manages submodules.
30 A submodule allows you to keep another Git repository in a subdirectory
31 of your repository. The other repository has its own history, which does not
32 interfere with the history of the current repository. This can be used to
33 have external dependencies such as third party libraries for example.
35 When cloning or pulling a repository containing submodules however,
36 these will not be checked out by default; the 'init' and 'update'
37 subcommands will maintain submodules checked out and at
38 appropriate revision in your working tree.
40 Submodules are composed from a so-called `gitlink` tree entry
41 in the main repository that refers to a particular commit object
42 within the inner repository that is completely separate.
43 A record in the `.gitmodules` (see linkgit:gitmodules[5]) file at the
44 root of the source tree assigns a logical name to the submodule and
45 describes the default URL the submodule shall be cloned from.
46 The logical name can be used for overriding this URL within your
47 local repository configuration (see 'submodule init').
49 Submodules are not to be confused with remotes, which are other
50 repositories of the same project; submodules are meant for
51 different projects you would like to make part of your source tree,
52 while the history of the two projects still stays completely
53 independent and you cannot modify the contents of the submodule
54 from within the main project.
55 If you want to merge the project histories and want to treat the
56 aggregated whole as a single project from then on, you may want to
57 add a remote for the other project and use the 'subtree' merge strategy,
58 instead of treating the other project as a submodule. Directories
59 that come from both projects can be cloned and checked out as a whole
60 if you choose to go that route.
65 Add the given repository as a submodule at the given path
66 to the changeset to be committed next to the current
67 project: the current project is termed the "superproject".
69 This requires at least one argument: <repository>. The optional
70 argument <path> is the relative location for the cloned submodule
71 to exist in the superproject. If <path> is not given, the
72 "humanish" part of the source repository is used ("repo" for
73 "/path/to/repo.git" and "foo" for "host.xz:foo/.git").
74 The <path> is also used as the submodule's logical name in its
75 configuration entries unless `--name` is used to specify a logical name.
77 <repository> is the URL of the new submodule's origin repository.
78 This may be either an absolute URL, or (if it begins with ./
79 or ../), the location relative to the superproject's origin
80 repository (Please note that to specify a repository 'foo.git'
81 which is located right next to a superproject 'bar.git', you'll
82 have to use '../foo.git' instead of './foo.git' - as one might expect
83 when following the rules for relative URLs - because the evaluation
84 of relative URLs in Git is identical to that of relative directories).
85 If the superproject doesn't have an origin configured
86 the superproject is its own authoritative upstream and the current
87 working directory is used instead.
89 <path> is the relative location for the cloned submodule to
90 exist in the superproject. If <path> does not exist, then the
91 submodule is created by cloning from the named URL. If <path> does
92 exist and is already a valid Git repository, then this is added
93 to the changeset without cloning. This second form is provided
94 to ease creating a new submodule from scratch, and presumes
95 the user will later push the submodule to the given URL.
97 In either case, the given URL is recorded into .gitmodules for
98 use by subsequent users cloning the superproject. If the URL is
99 given relative to the superproject's repository, the presumption
100 is the superproject and submodule repositories will be kept
101 together in the same relative location, and only the
102 superproject's URL needs to be provided: git-submodule will correctly
103 locate the submodule using the relative URL in .gitmodules.
106 Show the status of the submodules. This will print the SHA-1 of the
107 currently checked out commit for each submodule, along with the
108 submodule path and the output of 'git describe' for the
109 SHA-1. Each SHA-1 will be prefixed with `-` if the submodule is not
110 initialized, `+` if the currently checked out submodule commit
111 does not match the SHA-1 found in the index of the containing
112 repository and `U` if the submodule has merge conflicts.
114 If `--recursive` is specified, this command will recurse into nested
115 submodules, and show their status as well.
117 If you are only interested in changes of the currently initialized
118 submodules with respect to the commit recorded in the index or the HEAD,
119 linkgit:git-status[1] and linkgit:git-diff[1] will provide that information
120 too (and can also report changes to a submodule's work tree).
123 Initialize the submodules recorded in the index (which were
124 added and committed elsewhere) by copying submodule
125 names and urls from .gitmodules to .git/config.
126 Optional <path> arguments limit which submodules will be initialized.
127 It will also copy the value of `submodule.$name.update` into
129 The key used in .git/config is `submodule.$name.url`.
130 This command does not alter existing information in .git/config.
131 You can then customize the submodule clone URLs in .git/config
132 for your local setup and proceed to `git submodule update`;
133 you can also just use `git submodule update --init` without
134 the explicit 'init' step if you do not intend to customize
135 any submodule locations.
138 Unregister the given submodules, i.e. remove the whole
139 `submodule.$name` section from .git/config together with their work
140 tree. Further calls to `git submodule update`, `git submodule foreach`
141 and `git submodule sync` will skip any unregistered submodules until
142 they are initialized again, so use this command if you don't want to
143 have a local checkout of the submodule in your work tree anymore. If
144 you really want to remove a submodule from the repository and commit
145 that use linkgit:git-rm[1] instead.
147 If `--force` is specified, the submodule's work tree will be removed even if
148 it contains local modifications.
153 Update the registered submodules to match what the superproject
154 expects by cloning missing submodules and updating the working tree of
155 the submodules. The "updating" can be done in several ways depending
156 on command line options and the value of `submodule.<name>.update`
157 configuration variable. Supported update procedures are:
159 checkout;; the commit recorded in the superproject will be
160 checked out in the submodule on a detached HEAD. This is
161 done when `--checkout` option is given, or no option is
162 given, and `submodule.<name>.update` is unset, or if it is
165 If `--force` is specified, the submodule will be checked out (using
166 `git checkout --force` if appropriate), even if the commit specified
167 in the index of the containing repository already matches the commit
168 checked out in the submodule.
170 rebase;; the current branch of the submodule will be rebased
171 onto the commit recorded in the superproject. This is done
172 when `--rebase` option is given, or no option is given, and
173 `submodule.<name>.update` is set to 'rebase'.
175 merge;; the commit recorded in the superproject will be merged
176 into the current branch in the submodule. This is done
177 when `--merge` option is given, or no option is given, and
178 `submodule.<name>.update` is set to 'merge'.
180 custom command;; arbitrary shell command that takes a single
181 argument (the sha1 of the commit recorded in the
182 superproject) is executed. This is done when no option is
183 given, and `submodule.<name>.update` has the form of
186 When no option is given and `submodule.<name>.update` is set to 'none',
187 the submodule is not updated.
189 If the submodule is not yet initialized, and you just want to use the
190 setting as stored in .gitmodules, you can automatically initialize the
191 submodule with the `--init` option.
193 If `--recursive` is specified, this command will recurse into the
194 registered submodules, and update any nested submodules within.
197 Show commit summary between the given commit (defaults to HEAD) and
198 working tree/index. For a submodule in question, a series of commits
199 in the submodule between the given super project commit and the
200 index or working tree (switched by `--cached`) are shown. If the option
201 `--files` is given, show the series of commits in the submodule between
202 the index of the super project and the working tree of the submodule
203 (this option doesn't allow to use the `--cached` option or to provide an
206 Using the `--submodule=log` option with linkgit:git-diff[1] will provide that
210 Evaluates an arbitrary shell command in each checked out submodule.
211 The command has access to the variables $name, $path, $sha1 and
213 $name is the name of the relevant submodule section in .gitmodules,
214 $path is the name of the submodule directory relative to the
215 superproject, $sha1 is the commit as recorded in the superproject,
216 and $toplevel is the absolute path to the top-level of the superproject.
217 Any submodules defined in the superproject but not checked out are
218 ignored by this command. Unless given `--quiet`, foreach prints the name
219 of each submodule before evaluating the command.
220 If `--recursive` is given, submodules are traversed recursively (i.e.
221 the given shell command is evaluated in nested submodules as well).
222 A non-zero return from the command in any submodule causes
223 the processing to terminate. This can be overridden by adding '|| :'
224 to the end of the command.
226 As an example, +git submodule foreach \'echo $path {backtick}git
227 rev-parse HEAD{backtick}'+ will show the path and currently checked out
228 commit for each submodule.
231 Synchronizes submodules' remote URL configuration setting
232 to the value specified in .gitmodules. It will only affect those
233 submodules which already have a URL entry in .git/config (that is the
234 case when they are initialized or freshly added). This is useful when
235 submodule URLs change upstream and you need to update your local
236 repositories accordingly.
238 "git submodule sync" synchronizes all submodules while
239 "git submodule sync \-- A" synchronizes submodule "A" only.
245 Only print error messages.
249 Branch of repository to add as submodule.
250 The name of the branch is recorded as `submodule.<name>.branch` in
251 `.gitmodules` for `update --remote`.
255 This option is only valid for add, deinit and update commands.
256 When running add, allow adding an otherwise ignored submodule path.
257 When running deinit the submodule work trees will be removed even if
258 they contain local changes.
259 When running update (only effective with the checkout procedure),
260 throw away local changes in submodules when switching to a
261 different commit; and always run a checkout operation in the
262 submodule, even if the commit listed in the index of the
263 containing repository matches the commit checked out in the
267 This option is only valid for status and summary commands. These
268 commands typically use the commit found in the submodule HEAD, but
269 with this option, the commit stored in the index is used instead.
272 This option is only valid for the summary command. This command
273 compares the commit in the index with that in the submodule HEAD
274 when this option is used.
278 This option is only valid for the summary command.
279 Limit the summary size (number of commits shown in total).
280 Giving 0 will disable the summary; a negative number means unlimited
281 (the default). This limit only applies to modified submodules. The
282 size is always limited to 1 for added/deleted/typechanged submodules.
285 This option is only valid for the update command. Instead of using
286 the superproject's recorded SHA-1 to update the submodule, use the
287 status of the submodule's remote-tracking branch. The remote used
288 is branch's remote (`branch.<name>.remote`), defaulting to `origin`.
289 The remote branch used defaults to `master`, but the branch name may
290 be overridden by setting the `submodule.<name>.branch` option in
291 either `.gitmodules` or `.git/config` (with `.git/config` taking
294 This works for any of the supported update procedures (`--checkout`,
295 `--rebase`, etc.). The only change is the source of the target SHA-1.
296 For example, `submodule update --remote --merge` will merge upstream
297 submodule changes into the submodules, while `submodule update
298 --merge` will merge superproject gitlink changes into the submodules.
300 In order to ensure a current tracking branch state, `update --remote`
301 fetches the submodule's remote repository before calculating the
302 SHA-1. If you don't want to fetch, you should use `submodule update
303 --remote --no-fetch`.
305 Use this option to integrate changes from the upstream subproject with
306 your submodule's current HEAD. Alternatively, you can run `git pull`
307 from the submodule, which is equivalent except for the remote branch
308 name: `update --remote` uses the default upstream repository and
309 `submodule.<name>.branch`, while `git pull` uses the submodule's
310 `branch.<name>.merge`. Prefer `submodule.<name>.branch` if you want
311 to distribute the default upstream branch with the superproject and
312 `branch.<name>.merge` if you want a more native feel while working in
313 the submodule itself.
317 This option is only valid for the update command.
318 Don't fetch new objects from the remote site.
321 This option is only valid for the update command.
322 Checkout the commit recorded in the superproject on a detached HEAD
323 in the submodule. This is the default behavior, the main use of
324 this option is to override `submodule.$name.update` when set to
325 a value other than `checkout`.
326 If the key `submodule.$name.update` is either not explicitly set or
327 set to `checkout`, this option is implicit.
330 This option is only valid for the update command.
331 Merge the commit recorded in the superproject into the current branch
332 of the submodule. If this option is given, the submodule's HEAD will
333 not be detached. If a merge failure prevents this process, you will
334 have to resolve the resulting conflicts within the submodule with the
335 usual conflict resolution tools.
336 If the key `submodule.$name.update` is set to `merge`, this option is
340 This option is only valid for the update command.
341 Rebase the current branch onto the commit recorded in the
342 superproject. If this option is given, the submodule's HEAD will not
343 be detached. If a merge failure prevents this process, you will have
344 to resolve these failures with linkgit:git-rebase[1].
345 If the key `submodule.$name.update` is set to `rebase`, this option is
349 This option is only valid for the update command.
350 Initialize all submodules for which "git submodule init" has not been
351 called so far before updating.
354 This option is only valid for the add command. It sets the submodule's
355 name to the given string instead of defaulting to its path. The name
356 must be valid as a directory name and may not end with a '/'.
358 --reference <repository>::
359 This option is only valid for add and update commands. These
360 commands sometimes need to clone a remote repository. In this case,
361 this option will be passed to the linkgit:git-clone[1] command.
363 *NOTE*: Do *not* use this option unless you have read the note
364 for linkgit:git-clone[1]'s `--reference` and `--shared` options carefully.
367 This option is only valid for foreach, update and status commands.
368 Traverse submodules recursively. The operation is performed not
369 only in the submodules of the current repo, but also
370 in any nested submodules inside those submodules (and so on).
373 This option is valid for add and update commands. Create a 'shallow'
374 clone with a history truncated to the specified number of revisions.
375 See linkgit:git-clone[1]
379 Paths to submodule(s). When specified this will restrict the command
380 to only operate on the submodules found at the specified paths.
381 (This argument is required with add).
385 When initializing submodules, a .gitmodules file in the top-level directory
386 of the containing repository is used to find the url of each submodule.
387 This file should be formatted in the same way as `$GIT_DIR/config`. The key
388 to each submodule url is "submodule.$name.url". See linkgit:gitmodules[5]
393 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite