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 possibly be prefixed with `-` if the submodule is
74 not 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 The 'update' procedures supported both from the command line as well as
137 through the `submodule.<name>.update` configuration are:
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`), 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 'update' procedures are only available via the
154 `submodule.<name>.update` 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, $sm_path, $displaypath,
188 $name is the name of the relevant submodule section in `.gitmodules`,
189 $sm_path is the path of the submodule as recorded in the superproject,
190 $displaypath contains the relative path from the current working
191 directory to the submodules root directory,
192 $sha1 is the commit as recorded in the superproject, and
193 $toplevel is the absolute path to its superproject, such that
194 $toplevel/$sm_path is the absolute path of the submodule.
195 Note that to avoid conflicts with '$PATH' on Windows, the '$path'
196 variable is now a deprecated synonym of '$sm_path' variable.
197 Any submodules defined in the superproject but not checked out are
198 ignored by this command. Unless given `--quiet`, foreach prints the name
199 of each submodule before evaluating the command.
200 If `--recursive` is given, submodules are traversed recursively (i.e.
201 the given shell command is evaluated in nested submodules as well).
202 A non-zero return from the command in any submodule causes
203 the processing to terminate. This can be overridden by adding '|| :'
204 to the end of the command.
206 As an example, the command below will show the path and currently
207 checked out commit for each submodule:
210 git submodule foreach 'echo $path `git rev-parse HEAD`'
213 sync [--recursive] [--] [<path>...]::
214 Synchronizes submodules' remote URL configuration setting
215 to the value specified in `.gitmodules`. It will only affect those
216 submodules which already have a URL entry in .git/config (that is the
217 case when they are initialized or freshly added). This is useful when
218 submodule URLs change upstream and you need to update your local
219 repositories accordingly.
221 "git submodule sync" synchronizes all submodules while
222 "git submodule sync \-- A" synchronizes submodule "A" only.
224 If `--recursive` is specified, this command will recurse into the
225 registered submodules, and sync any nested submodules within.
228 If a git directory of a submodule is inside the submodule,
229 move the git directory of the submodule into its superprojects
230 `$GIT_DIR/modules` path and then connect the git directory and
231 its working directory by setting the `core.worktree` and adding
232 a .git file pointing to the git directory embedded in the
233 superprojects git directory.
235 A repository that was cloned independently and later added as a submodule or
236 old setups have the submodules git directory inside the submodule instead of
237 embedded into the superprojects git directory.
239 This command is recursive by default.
245 Only print error messages.
248 This option is only valid for the deinit command. Unregister all
249 submodules in the working tree.
253 Branch of repository to add as submodule.
254 The name of the branch is recorded as `submodule.<name>.branch` in
255 `.gitmodules` for `update --remote`. A special value of `.` is used to
256 indicate that the name of the branch in the submodule should be the
257 same name as the current branch in the current repository.
261 This option is only valid for add, deinit and update commands.
262 When running add, allow adding an otherwise ignored submodule path.
263 When running deinit the submodule working trees will be removed even
264 if they contain local changes.
265 When running update (only effective with the checkout procedure),
266 throw away local changes in submodules when switching to a
267 different commit; and always run a checkout operation in the
268 submodule, even if the commit listed in the index of the
269 containing repository matches the commit checked out in the
273 This option is only valid for status and summary commands. These
274 commands typically use the commit found in the submodule HEAD, but
275 with this option, the commit stored in the index is used instead.
278 This option is only valid for the summary command. This command
279 compares the commit in the index with that in the submodule HEAD
280 when this option is used.
284 This option is only valid for the summary command.
285 Limit the summary size (number of commits shown in total).
286 Giving 0 will disable the summary; a negative number means unlimited
287 (the default). This limit only applies to modified submodules. The
288 size is always limited to 1 for added/deleted/typechanged submodules.
291 This option is only valid for the update command. Instead of using
292 the superproject's recorded SHA-1 to update the submodule, use the
293 status of the submodule's remote-tracking branch. The remote used
294 is branch's remote (`branch.<name>.remote`), defaulting to `origin`.
295 The remote branch used defaults to `master`, but the branch name may
296 be overridden by setting the `submodule.<name>.branch` option in
297 either `.gitmodules` or `.git/config` (with `.git/config` taking
300 This works for any of the supported update procedures (`--checkout`,
301 `--rebase`, etc.). The only change is the source of the target SHA-1.
302 For example, `submodule update --remote --merge` will merge upstream
303 submodule changes into the submodules, while `submodule update
304 --merge` will merge superproject gitlink changes into the submodules.
306 In order to ensure a current tracking branch state, `update --remote`
307 fetches the submodule's remote repository before calculating the
308 SHA-1. If you don't want to fetch, you should use `submodule update
309 --remote --no-fetch`.
311 Use this option to integrate changes from the upstream subproject with
312 your submodule's current HEAD. Alternatively, you can run `git pull`
313 from the submodule, which is equivalent except for the remote branch
314 name: `update --remote` uses the default upstream repository and
315 `submodule.<name>.branch`, while `git pull` uses the submodule's
316 `branch.<name>.merge`. Prefer `submodule.<name>.branch` if you want
317 to distribute the default upstream branch with the superproject and
318 `branch.<name>.merge` if you want a more native feel while working in
319 the submodule itself.
323 This option is only valid for the update command.
324 Don't fetch new objects from the remote site.
327 This option is only valid for the update command.
328 Checkout the commit recorded in the superproject on a detached HEAD
329 in the submodule. This is the default behavior, the main use of
330 this option is to override `submodule.$name.update` when set to
331 a value other than `checkout`.
332 If the key `submodule.$name.update` is either not explicitly set or
333 set to `checkout`, this option is implicit.
336 This option is only valid for the update command.
337 Merge the commit recorded in the superproject into the current branch
338 of the submodule. If this option is given, the submodule's HEAD will
339 not be detached. If a merge failure prevents this process, you will
340 have to resolve the resulting conflicts within the submodule with the
341 usual conflict resolution tools.
342 If the key `submodule.$name.update` is set to `merge`, this option is
346 This option is only valid for the update command.
347 Rebase the current branch onto the commit recorded in the
348 superproject. If this option is given, the submodule's HEAD will not
349 be detached. If a merge failure prevents this process, you will have
350 to resolve these failures with linkgit:git-rebase[1].
351 If the key `submodule.$name.update` is set to `rebase`, this option is
355 This option is only valid for the update command.
356 Initialize all submodules for which "git submodule init" has not been
357 called so far before updating.
360 This option is only valid for the add command. It sets the submodule's
361 name to the given string instead of defaulting to its path. The name
362 must be valid as a directory name and may not end with a '/'.
364 --reference <repository>::
365 This option is only valid for add and update commands. These
366 commands sometimes need to clone a remote repository. In this case,
367 this option will be passed to the linkgit:git-clone[1] command.
369 *NOTE*: Do *not* use this option unless you have read the note
370 for linkgit:git-clone[1]'s `--reference` and `--shared` options carefully.
373 This option is only valid for foreach, update, status and sync commands.
374 Traverse submodules recursively. The operation is performed not
375 only in the submodules of the current repo, but also
376 in any nested submodules inside those submodules (and so on).
379 This option is valid for add and update commands. Create a 'shallow'
380 clone with a history truncated to the specified number of revisions.
381 See linkgit:git-clone[1]
383 --[no-]recommend-shallow::
384 This option is only valid for the update command.
385 The initial clone of a submodule will use the recommended
386 `submodule.<name>.shallow` as provided by the `.gitmodules` file
387 by default. To ignore the suggestions use `--no-recommend-shallow`.
391 This option is only valid for the update command.
392 Clone new submodules in parallel with as many jobs.
393 Defaults to the `submodule.fetchJobs` option.
396 Paths to submodule(s). When specified this will restrict the command
397 to only operate on the submodules found at the specified paths.
398 (This argument is required with add).
402 When initializing submodules, a `.gitmodules` file in the top-level directory
403 of the containing repository is used to find the url of each submodule.
404 This file should be formatted in the same way as `$GIT_DIR/config`. The key
405 to each submodule url is "submodule.$name.url". See linkgit:gitmodules[5]
410 linkgit:gitsubmodules[7], linkgit:gitmodules[5].
414 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite