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1git-submodule(1)
2================
3
4NAME
5----
6git-submodule - Initialize, update or inspect submodules
7
8
9SYNOPSIS
10--------
b2493649 11[verse]
eb2f2f5f 12'git submodule' [--quiet] add [<options>] [--] <repository> [<path>]
64b19ffe 13'git submodule' [--quiet] status [--cached] [--recursive] [--] [<path>...]
b1889c36 14'git submodule' [--quiet] init [--] [<path>...]
f6a52799 15'git submodule' [--quiet] deinit [-f|--force] (--all|[--] <path>...)
eb2f2f5f 16'git submodule' [--quiet] update [<options>] [--] [<path>...]
b57e8119 17'git submodule' [--quiet] set-branch [<options>] [--] <path>
eb2f2f5f 18'git submodule' [--quiet] summary [<options>] [--] [<path>...]
15fc56a8 19'git submodule' [--quiet] foreach [--recursive] <command>
9393ae79 20'git submodule' [--quiet] sync [--recursive] [--] [<path>...]
f6f85861 21'git submodule' [--quiet] absorbgitdirs [--] [<path>...]
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22
23
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24DESCRIPTION
25-----------
ec48a763 26Inspects, updates and manages submodules.
c47f1024 27
d4803455 28For more information about submodules, see linkgit:gitsubmodules[7].
e38953ab 29
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30COMMANDS
31--------
eb2f2f5f 32add [-b <branch>] [-f|--force] [--name <name>] [--reference <repository>] [--depth <depth>] [--] <repository> [<path>]::
ecda0723 33 Add the given repository as a submodule at the given path
ec05df35 34 to the changeset to be committed next to the current
77ef80a8 35 project: the current project is termed the "superproject".
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37<repository> is the URL of the new submodule's origin repository.
38This may be either an absolute URL, or (if it begins with ./
d1b3b81a 39or ../), the location relative to the superproject's default remote
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40repository (Please note that to specify a repository 'foo.git'
41which is located right next to a superproject 'bar.git', you'll
42have to use '../foo.git' instead of './foo.git' - as one might expect
43when following the rules for relative URLs - because the evaluation
44of relative URLs in Git is identical to that of relative directories).
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46The default remote is the remote of the remote-tracking branch
47of the current branch. If no such remote-tracking branch exists or
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48the HEAD is detached, "origin" is assumed to be the default remote.
49If the superproject doesn't have a default remote configured
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50the superproject is its own authoritative upstream and the current
51working directory is used instead.
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53The optional argument <path> is the relative location for the cloned
54submodule to exist in the superproject. If <path> is not given, the
55canonical part of the source repository is used ("repo" for
56"/path/to/repo.git" and "foo" for "host.xz:foo/.git"). If <path>
57exists and is already a valid Git repository, then it is staged
58for commit without cloning. The <path> is also used as the submodule's
59logical name in its configuration entries unless `--name` is used
60to specify a logical name.
ec05df35 61+
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62The given URL is recorded into `.gitmodules` for use by subsequent users
63cloning the superproject. If the URL is given relative to the
64superproject's repository, the presumption is the superproject and
65submodule repositories will be kept together in the same relative
66location, and only the superproject's URL needs to be provided.
67git-submodule will correctly locate the submodule using the relative
68URL in `.gitmodules`.
ecda0723 69
eb2f2f5f 70status [--cached] [--recursive] [--] [<path>...]::
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71 Show the status of the submodules. This will print the SHA-1 of the
72 currently checked out commit for each submodule, along with the
0b444cdb 73 submodule path and the output of 'git describe' for the
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74 SHA-1. Each SHA-1 will possibly be prefixed with `-` if the submodule is
75 not initialized, `+` if the currently checked out submodule commit
70c7ac22 76 does not match the SHA-1 found in the index of the containing
313ee0d6 77 repository and `U` if the submodule has merge conflicts.
64b19ffe 78+
402e8a6d 79If `--recursive` is specified, this command will recurse into nested
64b19ffe 80submodules, and show their status as well.
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81+
82If you are only interested in changes of the currently initialized
83submodules with respect to the commit recorded in the index or the HEAD,
84linkgit:git-status[1] and linkgit:git-diff[1] will provide that information
85too (and can also report changes to a submodule's work tree).
70c7ac22 86
eb2f2f5f 87init [--] [<path>...]::
3244eb9b 88 Initialize the submodules recorded in the index (which were
d1b3b81a 89 added and committed elsewhere) by setting `submodule.$name.url`
beebc6df 90 in .git/config. It uses the same setting from `.gitmodules` as
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91 a template. If the URL is relative, it will be resolved using
92 the default remote. If there is no default remote, the current
93 repository will be assumed to be upstream.
94+
95Optional <path> arguments limit which submodules will be initialized.
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96If no path is specified and submodule.active has been configured, submodules
97configured to be active will be initialized, otherwise all submodules are
98initialized.
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99+
100When present, it will also copy the value of `submodule.$name.update`.
101This command does not alter existing information in .git/config.
102You can then customize the submodule clone URLs in .git/config
103for your local setup and proceed to `git submodule update`;
104you can also just use `git submodule update --init` without
105the explicit 'init' step if you do not intend to customize
106any submodule locations.
107+
64127575 108See the add subcommand for the definition of default remote.
70c7ac22 109
eb2f2f5f 110deinit [-f|--force] (--all|[--] <path>...)::
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111 Unregister the given submodules, i.e. remove the whole
112 `submodule.$name` section from .git/config together with their work
113 tree. Further calls to `git submodule update`, `git submodule foreach`
114 and `git submodule sync` will skip any unregistered submodules until
115 they are initialized again, so use this command if you don't want to
d4803455 116 have a local checkout of the submodule in your working tree anymore.
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118When the command is run without pathspec, it errors out,
119instead of deinit-ing everything, to prevent mistakes.
120+
121If `--force` is specified, the submodule's working tree will
122be removed even if it contains local modifications.
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123+
124If you really want to remove a submodule from the repository and commit
125that use linkgit:git-rm[1] instead. See linkgit:gitsubmodules[7] for removal
126options.
cf419828 127
eb2f2f5f 128update [--init] [--remote] [-N|--no-fetch] [--[no-]recommend-shallow] [-f|--force] [--checkout|--rebase|--merge] [--reference <repository>] [--depth <depth>] [--recursive] [--jobs <n>] [--] [<path>...]::
be4d2c83 129+
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130--
131Update the registered submodules to match what the superproject
132expects by cloning missing submodules and updating the working tree of
133the submodules. The "updating" can be done in several ways depending
134on command line options and the value of `submodule.<name>.update`
fc01a5d2 135configuration variable. The command line option takes precedence over
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136the configuration variable. If neither is given, a 'checkout' is performed.
137The 'update' procedures supported both from the command line as well as
138through the `submodule.<name>.update` configuration are:
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139
140 checkout;; the commit recorded in the superproject will be
fc01a5d2 141 checked out in the submodule on a detached HEAD.
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142+
143If `--force` is specified, the submodule will be checked out (using
e1b3f3dd 144`git checkout --force`), even if the commit specified
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145in the index of the containing repository already matches the commit
146checked out in the submodule.
147
148 rebase;; the current branch of the submodule will be rebased
fc01a5d2 149 onto the commit recorded in the superproject.
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150
151 merge;; the commit recorded in the superproject will be merged
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152 into the current branch in the submodule.
153
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154The following 'update' procedures are only available via the
155`submodule.<name>.update` configuration variable:
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156
157 custom command;; arbitrary shell command that takes a single
158 argument (the sha1 of the commit recorded in the
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159 superproject) is executed. When `submodule.<name>.update`
160 is set to '!command', the remainder after the exclamation mark
161 is the custom command.
5c31acfb 162
fc01a5d2 163 none;; the submodule is not updated.
5c31acfb 164
be4d2c83 165If the submodule is not yet initialized, and you just want to use the
beebc6df 166setting as stored in `.gitmodules`, you can automatically initialize the
402e8a6d 167submodule with the `--init` option.
5c31acfb 168
402e8a6d 169If `--recursive` is specified, this command will recurse into the
b13fd5c1 170registered submodules, and update any nested submodules within.
5c31acfb 171--
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172set-branch (-b|--branch) <branch> [--] <path>::
173set-branch (-d|--default) [--] <path>::
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174 Sets the default remote tracking branch for the submodule. The
175 `--branch` option allows the remote branch to be specified. The
176 `--default` option removes the submodule.<name>.branch configuration
177 key, which causes the tracking branch to default to 'master'.
178
eb2f2f5f 179summary [--cached|--files] [(-n|--summary-limit) <n>] [commit] [--] [<path>...]::
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180 Show commit summary between the given commit (defaults to HEAD) and
181 working tree/index. For a submodule in question, a series of commits
182 in the submodule between the given super project commit and the
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183 index or working tree (switched by `--cached`) are shown. If the option
184 `--files` is given, show the series of commits in the submodule between
ef92e1a4 185 the index of the super project and the working tree of the submodule
402e8a6d 186 (this option doesn't allow to use the `--cached` option or to provide an
1c244f6e 187 explicit commit).
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188+
189Using the `--submodule=log` option with linkgit:git-diff[1] will provide that
190information too.
70c7ac22 191
eb2f2f5f 192foreach [--recursive] <command>::
19a31f9c 193 Evaluates an arbitrary shell command in each checked out submodule.
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194 The command has access to the variables $name, $sm_path, $displaypath,
195 $sha1 and $toplevel:
beebc6df 196 $name is the name of the relevant submodule section in `.gitmodules`,
f0fd0dc5 197 $sm_path is the path of the submodule as recorded in the immediate
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198 superproject, $displaypath contains the relative path from the
199 current working directory to the submodules root directory,
200 $sha1 is the commit as recorded in the immediate
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201 superproject, and $toplevel is the absolute path to the top-level
202 of the immediate superproject.
203 Note that to avoid conflicts with '$PATH' on Windows, the '$path'
204 variable is now a deprecated synonym of '$sm_path' variable.
19a31f9c 205 Any submodules defined in the superproject but not checked out are
402e8a6d 206 ignored by this command. Unless given `--quiet`, foreach prints the name
19a31f9c 207 of each submodule before evaluating the command.
402e8a6d 208 If `--recursive` is given, submodules are traversed recursively (i.e.
15fc56a8 209 the given shell command is evaluated in nested submodules as well).
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210 A non-zero return from the command in any submodule causes
211 the processing to terminate. This can be overridden by adding '|| :'
212 to the end of the command.
213+
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214As an example, the command below will show the path and currently
215checked out commit for each submodule:
216+
217--------------
218git submodule foreach 'echo $path `git rev-parse HEAD`'
219--------------
19a31f9c 220
eb2f2f5f 221sync [--recursive] [--] [<path>...]::
2327f61e 222 Synchronizes submodules' remote URL configuration setting
beebc6df 223 to the value specified in `.gitmodules`. It will only affect those
a7793a74 224 submodules which already have a URL entry in .git/config (that is the
ccee6086 225 case when they are initialized or freshly added). This is useful when
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226 submodule URLs change upstream and you need to update your local
227 repositories accordingly.
228+
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229`git submodule sync` synchronizes all submodules while
230`git submodule sync -- A` synchronizes submodule "A" only.
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231+
232If `--recursive` is specified, this command will recurse into the
233registered submodules, and sync any nested submodules within.
19a31f9c 234
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235absorbgitdirs::
236 If a git directory of a submodule is inside the submodule,
237 move the git directory of the submodule into its superprojects
238 `$GIT_DIR/modules` path and then connect the git directory and
239 its working directory by setting the `core.worktree` and adding
240 a .git file pointing to the git directory embedded in the
241 superprojects git directory.
242+
243A repository that was cloned independently and later added as a submodule or
244old setups have the submodules git directory inside the submodule instead of
245embedded into the superprojects git directory.
246+
247This command is recursive by default.
248
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249OPTIONS
250-------
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251-q::
252--quiet::
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253 Only print error messages.
254
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255--progress::
256 This option is only valid for add and update commands.
257 Progress status is reported on the standard error stream
258 by default when it is attached to a terminal, unless -q
259 is specified. This flag forces progress status even if the
260 standard error stream is not directed to a terminal.
261
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262--all::
263 This option is only valid for the deinit command. Unregister all
264 submodules in the working tree.
265
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266-b <branch>::
267--branch <branch>::
ecda0723 268 Branch of repository to add as submodule.
15d64936 269 The name of the branch is recorded as `submodule.<name>.branch` in
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270 `.gitmodules` for `update --remote`. A special value of `.` is used to
271 indicate that the name of the branch in the submodule should be the
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272 same name as the current branch in the current repository. If the
273 option is not specified, it defaults to 'master'.
ecda0723 274
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275-f::
276--force::
cf419828 277 This option is only valid for add, deinit and update commands.
9db31bdf 278 When running add, allow adding an otherwise ignored submodule path.
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279 When running deinit the submodule working trees will be removed even
280 if they contain local changes.
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281 When running update (only effective with the checkout procedure),
282 throw away local changes in submodules when switching to a
283 different commit; and always run a checkout operation in the
284 submodule, even if the commit listed in the index of the
285 containing repository matches the commit checked out in the
286 submodule.
d27b876b 287
70c7ac22 288--cached::
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289 This option is only valid for status and summary commands. These
290 commands typically use the commit found in the submodule HEAD, but
291 with this option, the commit stored in the index is used instead.
292
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293--files::
294 This option is only valid for the summary command. This command
295 compares the commit in the index with that in the submodule HEAD
296 when this option is used.
297
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298-n::
299--summary-limit::
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300 This option is only valid for the summary command.
301 Limit the summary size (number of commits shown in total).
51836e9e 302 Giving 0 will disable the summary; a negative number means unlimited
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303 (the default). This limit only applies to modified submodules. The
304 size is always limited to 1 for added/deleted/typechanged submodules.
70c7ac22 305
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306--remote::
307 This option is only valid for the update command. Instead of using
308 the superproject's recorded SHA-1 to update the submodule, use the
d6ac1d21 309 status of the submodule's remote-tracking branch. The remote used
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310 is branch's remote (`branch.<name>.remote`), defaulting to `origin`.
311 The remote branch used defaults to `master`, but the branch name may
312 be overridden by setting the `submodule.<name>.branch` option in
313 either `.gitmodules` or `.git/config` (with `.git/config` taking
314 precedence).
315+
316This works for any of the supported update procedures (`--checkout`,
317`--rebase`, etc.). The only change is the source of the target SHA-1.
318For example, `submodule update --remote --merge` will merge upstream
319submodule changes into the submodules, while `submodule update
320--merge` will merge superproject gitlink changes into the submodules.
321+
322In order to ensure a current tracking branch state, `update --remote`
323fetches the submodule's remote repository before calculating the
324SHA-1. If you don't want to fetch, you should use `submodule update
325--remote --no-fetch`.
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326+
327Use this option to integrate changes from the upstream subproject with
328your submodule's current HEAD. Alternatively, you can run `git pull`
329from the submodule, which is equivalent except for the remote branch
330name: `update --remote` uses the default upstream repository and
331`submodule.<name>.branch`, while `git pull` uses the submodule's
332`branch.<name>.merge`. Prefer `submodule.<name>.branch` if you want
333to distribute the default upstream branch with the superproject and
334`branch.<name>.merge` if you want a more native feel while working in
335the submodule itself.
06b1abb5 336
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337-N::
338--no-fetch::
339 This option is only valid for the update command.
340 Don't fetch new objects from the remote site.
341
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342--checkout::
343 This option is only valid for the update command.
344 Checkout the commit recorded in the superproject on a detached HEAD
345 in the submodule. This is the default behavior, the main use of
346 this option is to override `submodule.$name.update` when set to
5c31acfb 347 a value other than `checkout`.
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348 If the key `submodule.$name.update` is either not explicitly set or
349 set to `checkout`, this option is implicit.
350
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351--merge::
352 This option is only valid for the update command.
353 Merge the commit recorded in the superproject into the current branch
354 of the submodule. If this option is given, the submodule's HEAD will
355 not be detached. If a merge failure prevents this process, you will
356 have to resolve the resulting conflicts within the submodule with the
357 usual conflict resolution tools.
358 If the key `submodule.$name.update` is set to `merge`, this option is
359 implicit.
360
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361--rebase::
362 This option is only valid for the update command.
363 Rebase the current branch onto the commit recorded in the
364 superproject. If this option is given, the submodule's HEAD will not
6a5d0b0a 365 be detached. If a merge failure prevents this process, you will have
ca2cedba 366 to resolve these failures with linkgit:git-rebase[1].
32948425 367 If the key `submodule.$name.update` is set to `rebase`, this option is
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368 implicit.
369
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370--init::
371 This option is only valid for the update command.
372 Initialize all submodules for which "git submodule init" has not been
373 called so far before updating.
374
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375--name::
376 This option is only valid for the add command. It sets the submodule's
377 name to the given string instead of defaulting to its path. The name
378 must be valid as a directory name and may not end with a '/'.
379
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380--reference <repository>::
381 This option is only valid for add and update commands. These
382 commands sometimes need to clone a remote repository. In this case,
383 this option will be passed to the linkgit:git-clone[1] command.
384+
385*NOTE*: Do *not* use this option unless you have read the note
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386for linkgit:git-clone[1]'s `--reference`, `--shared`, and `--dissociate`
387options carefully.
388
389--dissociate::
390 This option is only valid for add and update commands. These
391 commands sometimes need to clone a remote repository. In this case,
392 this option will be passed to the linkgit:git-clone[1] command.
393+
394*NOTE*: see the NOTE for the `--reference` option.
d92a3959 395
15fc56a8 396--recursive::
e7220c40 397 This option is only valid for foreach, update, status and sync commands.
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398 Traverse submodules recursively. The operation is performed not
399 only in the submodules of the current repo, but also
400 in any nested submodules inside those submodules (and so on).
401
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402--depth::
403 This option is valid for add and update commands. Create a 'shallow'
404 clone with a history truncated to the specified number of revisions.
405 See linkgit:git-clone[1]
406
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407--[no-]recommend-shallow::
408 This option is only valid for the update command.
409 The initial clone of a submodule will use the recommended
beebc6df 410 `submodule.<name>.shallow` as provided by the `.gitmodules` file
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411 by default. To ignore the suggestions use `--no-recommend-shallow`.
412
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413-j <n>::
414--jobs <n>::
415 This option is only valid for the update command.
416 Clone new submodules in parallel with as many jobs.
417 Defaults to the `submodule.fetchJobs` option.
275cd184 418
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419<path>...::
420 Paths to submodule(s). When specified this will restrict the command
70c7ac22 421 to only operate on the submodules found at the specified paths.
ec05df35 422 (This argument is required with add).
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423
424FILES
425-----
beebc6df 426When initializing submodules, a `.gitmodules` file in the top-level directory
70c7ac22 427of the containing repository is used to find the url of each submodule.
c4585701 428This file should be formatted in the same way as `$GIT_DIR/config`. The key
5162e697 429to each submodule url is "submodule.$name.url". See linkgit:gitmodules[5]
6fbe42c7 430for details.
70c7ac22 431
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432SEE ALSO
433--------
434linkgit:gitsubmodules[7], linkgit:gitmodules[5].
435
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436GIT
437---
9e1f0a85 438Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite