Autogenerated HTML docs for v2.45.1-204-gd8ab1
[git-htmldocs.git] / gitsubmodules.html
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735 <body class="manpage">
736 <div id="header">
737 <h1>
738 gitsubmodules(7) Manual Page
739 </h1>
740 <h2>NAME</h2>
741 <div class="sectionbody">
742 <p>gitsubmodules -
743 Mounting one repository inside another
744 </p>
745 </div>
746 </div>
747 <div id="content">
748 <div class="sect1">
749 <h2 id="_synopsis">SYNOPSIS</h2>
750 <div class="sectionbody">
751 <div class="literalblock">
752 <div class="content">
753 <pre><code>.gitmodules, $GIT_DIR/config</code></pre>
754 </div></div>
755 <div class="listingblock">
756 <div class="content">
757 <pre><code>git submodule
758 git &lt;command&gt; --recurse-submodules</code></pre>
759 </div></div>
760 </div>
761 </div>
762 <div class="sect1">
763 <h2 id="_description">DESCRIPTION</h2>
764 <div class="sectionbody">
765 <div class="paragraph"><p>A submodule is a repository embedded inside another repository.
766 The submodule has its own history; the repository it is embedded
767 in is called a superproject.</p></div>
768 <div class="paragraph"><p>On the filesystem, a submodule usually (but not always - see FORMS below)
769 consists of (i) a Git directory located under the <code>$GIT_DIR/modules/</code>
770 directory of its superproject, (ii) a working directory inside the
771 superproject&#8217;s working directory, and a <code>.git</code> file at the root of
772 the submodule&#8217;s working directory pointing to (i).</p></div>
773 <div class="paragraph"><p>Assuming the submodule has a Git directory at <code>$GIT_DIR/modules/foo/</code>
774 and a working directory at <code>path/to/bar/</code>, the superproject tracks the
775 submodule via a <code>gitlink</code> entry in the tree at <code>path/to/bar</code> and an entry
776 in its <code>.gitmodules</code> file (see <a href="gitmodules.html">gitmodules(5)</a>) of the form
777 <code>submodule.foo.path = path/to/bar</code>.</p></div>
778 <div class="paragraph"><p>The <code>gitlink</code> entry contains the object name of the commit that the
779 superproject expects the submodule&#8217;s working directory to be at.</p></div>
780 <div class="paragraph"><p>The section <code>submodule.foo.*</code> in the <code>.gitmodules</code> file gives additional
781 hints to Git&#8217;s porcelain layer. For example, the <code>submodule.foo.url</code>
782 setting specifies where to obtain the submodule.</p></div>
783 <div class="paragraph"><p>Submodules can be used for at least two different use cases:</p></div>
784 <div class="olist arabic"><ol class="arabic">
785 <li>
787 Using another project while maintaining independent history.
788 Submodules allow you to contain the working tree of another project
789 within your own working tree while keeping the history of both
790 projects separate. Also, since submodules are fixed to an arbitrary
791 version, the other project can be independently developed without
792 affecting the superproject, allowing the superproject project to
793 fix itself to new versions only when desired.
794 </p>
795 </li>
796 <li>
798 Splitting a (logically single) project into multiple
799 repositories and tying them back together. This can be used to
800 overcome current limitations of Git&#8217;s implementation to have
801 finer grained access:
802 </p>
803 <div class="ulist"><ul>
804 <li>
806 Size of the Git repository:
807 In its current form Git scales up poorly for large repositories containing
808 content that is not compressed by delta computation between trees.
809 For example, you can use submodules to hold large binary assets
810 and these repositories can be shallowly cloned such that you do not
811 have a large history locally.
812 </p>
813 </li>
814 <li>
816 Transfer size:
817 In its current form Git requires the whole working tree present. It
818 does not allow partial trees to be transferred in fetch or clone.
819 If the project you work on consists of multiple repositories tied
820 together as submodules in a superproject, you can avoid fetching the
821 working trees of the repositories you are not interested in.
822 </p>
823 </li>
824 <li>
826 Access control:
827 By restricting user access to submodules, this can be used to implement
828 read/write policies for different users.
829 </p>
830 </li>
831 </ul></div>
832 </li>
833 </ol></div>
834 </div>
835 </div>
836 <div class="sect1">
837 <h2 id="_the_configuration_of_submodules">The configuration of submodules</h2>
838 <div class="sectionbody">
839 <div class="paragraph"><p>Submodule operations can be configured using the following mechanisms
840 (from highest to lowest precedence):</p></div>
841 <div class="ulist"><ul>
842 <li>
844 The command line for those commands that support taking submodules
845 as part of their pathspecs. Most commands have a boolean flag
846 <code>--recurse-submodules</code> which specifies whether to recurse into submodules.
847 Examples are <code>grep</code> and <code>checkout</code>.
848 Some commands take enums, such as <code>fetch</code> and <code>push</code>, where you can
849 specify how submodules are affected.
850 </p>
851 </li>
852 <li>
854 The configuration inside the submodule. This includes <code>$GIT_DIR/config</code>
855 in the submodule, but also settings in the tree such as a <code>.gitattributes</code>
856 or <code>.gitignore</code> files that specify behavior of commands inside the
857 submodule.
858 </p>
859 <div class="paragraph"><p>For example an effect from the submodule&#8217;s <code>.gitignore</code> file
860 would be observed when you run <code>git status --ignore-submodules=none</code> in
861 the superproject. This collects information from the submodule&#8217;s working
862 directory by running <code>status</code> in the submodule while paying attention
863 to the <code>.gitignore</code> file of the submodule.</p></div>
864 <div class="paragraph"><p>The submodule&#8217;s <code>$GIT_DIR/config</code> file would come into play when running
865 <code>git push --recurse-submodules=check</code> in the superproject, as this would
866 check if the submodule has any changes not published to any remote. The
867 remotes are configured in the submodule as usual in the <code>$GIT_DIR/config</code>
868 file.</p></div>
869 </li>
870 <li>
872 The configuration file <code>$GIT_DIR/config</code> in the superproject.
873 Git only recurses into active submodules (see "ACTIVE SUBMODULES"
874 section below).
875 </p>
876 <div class="paragraph"><p>If the submodule is not yet initialized, then the configuration
877 inside the submodule does not exist yet, so where to
878 obtain the submodule from is configured here for example.</p></div>
879 </li>
880 <li>
882 The <code>.gitmodules</code> file inside the superproject. A project usually
883 uses this file to suggest defaults for the upstream collection
884 of repositories for the mapping that is required between a
885 submodule&#8217;s name and its path.
886 </p>
887 <div class="paragraph"><p>This file mainly serves as the mapping between the name and path of submodules
888 in the superproject, such that the submodule&#8217;s Git directory can be
889 located.</p></div>
890 <div class="paragraph"><p>If the submodule has never been initialized, this is the only place
891 where submodule configuration is found. It serves as the last fallback
892 to specify where to obtain the submodule from.</p></div>
893 </li>
894 </ul></div>
895 </div>
896 </div>
897 <div class="sect1">
898 <h2 id="_forms">FORMS</h2>
899 <div class="sectionbody">
900 <div class="paragraph"><p>Submodules can take the following forms:</p></div>
901 <div class="ulist"><ul>
902 <li>
904 The basic form described in DESCRIPTION with a Git directory,
905 a working directory, a <code>gitlink</code>, and a <code>.gitmodules</code> entry.
906 </p>
907 </li>
908 <li>
910 "Old-form" submodule: A working directory with an embedded
911 <code>.git</code> directory, and the tracking <code>gitlink</code> and <code>.gitmodules</code> entry in
912 the superproject. This is typically found in repositories generated
913 using older versions of Git.
914 </p>
915 <div class="paragraph"><p>It is possible to construct these old form repositories manually.</p></div>
916 <div class="paragraph"><p>When deinitialized or deleted (see below), the submodule&#8217;s Git
917 directory is automatically moved to <code>$GIT_DIR/modules/&lt;name&gt;/</code>
918 of the superproject.</p></div>
919 </li>
920 <li>
922 Deinitialized submodule: A <code>gitlink</code>, and a <code>.gitmodules</code> entry,
923 but no submodule working directory. The submodule&#8217;s Git directory
924 may be there as after deinitializing the Git directory is kept around.
925 The directory which is supposed to be the working directory is empty instead.
926 </p>
927 <div class="paragraph"><p>A submodule can be deinitialized by running <code>git submodule deinit</code>.
928 Besides emptying the working directory, this command only modifies
929 the superproject&#8217;s <code>$GIT_DIR/config</code> file, so the superproject&#8217;s history
930 is not affected. This can be undone using <code>git submodule init</code>.</p></div>
931 </li>
932 <li>
934 Deleted submodule: A submodule can be deleted by running
935 <code>git rm &lt;submodule-path&gt; &amp;&amp; git commit</code>. This can be undone
936 using <code>git revert</code>.
937 </p>
938 <div class="paragraph"><p>The deletion removes the superproject&#8217;s tracking data, which are
939 both the <code>gitlink</code> entry and the section in the <code>.gitmodules</code> file.
940 The submodule&#8217;s working directory is removed from the file
941 system, but the Git directory is kept around as it to make it
942 possible to checkout past commits without requiring fetching
943 from another repository.</p></div>
944 <div class="paragraph"><p>To completely remove a submodule, manually delete
945 <code>$GIT_DIR/modules/&lt;name&gt;/</code>.</p></div>
946 </li>
947 </ul></div>
948 </div>
949 </div>
950 <div class="sect1">
951 <h2 id="_active_submodules">ACTIVE SUBMODULES</h2>
952 <div class="sectionbody">
953 <div class="paragraph"><p>A submodule is considered active,</p></div>
954 <div class="olist arabic"><ol class="arabic">
955 <li>
957 if <code>submodule.&lt;name&gt;.active</code> is set to <code>true</code>
958 </p>
959 <div class="paragraph"><p>or</p></div>
960 </li>
961 <li>
963 if the submodule&#8217;s path matches the pathspec in <code>submodule.active</code>
964 </p>
965 <div class="paragraph"><p>or</p></div>
966 </li>
967 <li>
969 if <code>submodule.&lt;name&gt;.url</code> is set.
970 </p>
971 </li>
972 </ol></div>
973 <div class="paragraph"><p>and these are evaluated in this order.</p></div>
974 <div class="paragraph"><p>For example:</p></div>
975 <div class="literalblock">
976 <div class="content">
977 <pre><code>[submodule "foo"]
978 active = false
979 url = https://example.org/foo
980 [submodule "bar"]
981 active = true
982 url = https://example.org/bar
983 [submodule "baz"]
984 url = https://example.org/baz</code></pre>
985 </div></div>
986 <div class="paragraph"><p>In the above config only the submodules <em>bar</em> and <em>baz</em> are active,
987 <em>bar</em> due to (1) and <em>baz</em> due to (3). <em>foo</em> is inactive because
988 (1) takes precedence over (3)</p></div>
989 <div class="paragraph"><p>Note that (3) is a historical artefact and will be ignored if the
990 (1) and (2) specify that the submodule is not active. In other words,
991 if we have a <code>submodule.&lt;name&gt;.active</code> set to <code>false</code> or if the
992 submodule&#8217;s path is excluded in the pathspec in <code>submodule.active</code>, the
993 url doesn&#8217;t matter whether it is present or not. This is illustrated in
994 the example that follows.</p></div>
995 <div class="literalblock">
996 <div class="content">
997 <pre><code>[submodule "foo"]
998 active = true
999 url = https://example.org/foo
1000 [submodule "bar"]
1001 url = https://example.org/bar
1002 [submodule "baz"]
1003 url = https://example.org/baz
1004 [submodule "bob"]
1005 ignore = true
1006 [submodule]
1007 active = b*
1008 active = :(exclude) baz</code></pre>
1009 </div></div>
1010 <div class="paragraph"><p>In here all submodules except <em>baz</em> (foo, bar, bob) are active.
1011 <em>foo</em> due to its own active flag and all the others due to the
1012 submodule active pathspec, which specifies that any submodule
1013 starting with <em>b</em> except <em>baz</em> are also active, regardless of the
1014 presence of the .url field.</p></div>
1015 </div>
1016 </div>
1017 <div class="sect1">
1018 <h2 id="_workflow_for_a_third_party_library">Workflow for a third party library</h2>
1019 <div class="sectionbody">
1020 <div class="literalblock">
1021 <div class="content">
1022 <pre><code># Add a submodule
1023 git submodule add &lt;URL&gt; &lt;path&gt;</code></pre>
1024 </div></div>
1025 <div class="literalblock">
1026 <div class="content">
1027 <pre><code># Occasionally update the submodule to a new version:
1028 git -C &lt;path&gt; checkout &lt;new-version&gt;
1029 git add &lt;path&gt;
1030 git commit -m "update submodule to new version"</code></pre>
1031 </div></div>
1032 <div class="literalblock">
1033 <div class="content">
1034 <pre><code># See the list of submodules in a superproject
1035 git submodule status</code></pre>
1036 </div></div>
1037 <div class="literalblock">
1038 <div class="content">
1039 <pre><code># See FORMS on removing submodules</code></pre>
1040 </div></div>
1041 </div>
1042 </div>
1043 <div class="sect1">
1044 <h2 id="_workflow_for_an_artificially_split_repo">Workflow for an artificially split repo</h2>
1045 <div class="sectionbody">
1046 <div class="literalblock">
1047 <div class="content">
1048 <pre><code># Enable recursion for relevant commands, such that
1049 # regular commands recurse into submodules by default
1050 git config --global submodule.recurse true</code></pre>
1051 </div></div>
1052 <div class="literalblock">
1053 <div class="content">
1054 <pre><code># Unlike most other commands below, clone still needs
1055 # its own recurse flag:
1056 git clone --recurse &lt;URL&gt; &lt;directory&gt;
1057 cd &lt;directory&gt;</code></pre>
1058 </div></div>
1059 <div class="literalblock">
1060 <div class="content">
1061 <pre><code># Get to know the code:
1062 git grep foo
1063 git ls-files --recurse-submodules</code></pre>
1064 </div></div>
1065 <div class="admonitionblock">
1066 <table><tr>
1067 <td class="icon">
1068 <div class="title">Note</div>
1069 </td>
1070 <td class="content"><code>git ls-files</code> also requires its own <code>--recurse-submodules</code> flag.</td>
1071 </tr></table>
1072 </div>
1073 <div class="literalblock">
1074 <div class="content">
1075 <pre><code># Get new code
1076 git fetch
1077 git pull --rebase</code></pre>
1078 </div></div>
1079 <div class="literalblock">
1080 <div class="content">
1081 <pre><code># Change worktree
1082 git checkout
1083 git reset</code></pre>
1084 </div></div>
1085 </div>
1086 </div>
1087 <div class="sect1">
1088 <h2 id="_implementation_details">Implementation details</h2>
1089 <div class="sectionbody">
1090 <div class="paragraph"><p>When cloning or pulling a repository containing submodules the submodules
1091 will not be checked out by default; you can instruct <code>clone</code> to recurse
1092 into submodules. The <code>init</code> and <code>update</code> subcommands of <code>git submodule</code>
1093 will maintain submodules checked out and at an appropriate revision in
1094 your working tree. Alternatively you can set <code>submodule.recurse</code> to have
1095 <code>checkout</code> recurse into submodules (note that <code>submodule.recurse</code> also
1096 affects other Git commands, see <a href="git-config.html">git-config(1)</a> for a complete list).</p></div>
1097 </div>
1098 </div>
1099 <div class="sect1">
1100 <h2 id="_see_also">SEE ALSO</h2>
1101 <div class="sectionbody">
1102 <div class="paragraph"><p><a href="git-submodule.html">git-submodule(1)</a>, <a href="gitmodules.html">gitmodules(5)</a>.</p></div>
1103 </div>
1104 </div>
1105 <div class="sect1">
1106 <h2 id="_git">GIT</h2>
1107 <div class="sectionbody">
1108 <div class="paragraph"><p>Part of the <a href="git.html">git(1)</a> suite</p></div>
1109 </div>
1110 </div>
1111 </div>
1112 <div id="footnotes"><hr /></div>
1113 <div id="footer">
1114 <div id="footer-text">
1115 Last updated
1116 2024-02-08 15:45:59 PST
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