Rename a git submodule
Asked Answered
W

7

233

Is there some easy way to rename a git submodule directory (other than going through the entire motion of deleting it and re-adding it with a new destination name).

And while we are at it, why is it that I simply cannot do the following in the parent directory: git mv old-submodule-name new-submodule-name

Wrenn answered 24/12, 2010 at 14:52 Comment(5)
You will no longer need to update .gitmodules manually when moving a submodule. see my answer belowCuddle
Git modules are too complicated. npm shows how simple works. One day... maybe... someone... will rewrite it... in the meantime...Antiquary
@VonC's answer is not the full story as of today: it will indeed change .gitmodules, but will just rename the path, not the module name. You need an additional edit to .gitmodules to correct that and a 'git submodule sync' to complete the full processRhizogenic
@zertyz: The property [submodule "name_of_submodule"] is a Git internal name, you can rename it for not confusing yourself but it's just a label.Cilium
The title is misleadiing. It should be "Change a git submodule path" Renaming of a submodule is not possilbe AFAIK. ie the "path" and "url" parts of .gitmodules can be manipulated but not submoudle declaration. If you want the module name to be aligned with the path, you have to delete and reCreate.Letterhead
I
122

I found following workflow working:

  • Update .gitmodules
  • mv oldpath newpath
  • git rm oldpath
  • git add newpath
  • git submodule sync

Note: this approach does not update the index and .gitmodules properly in 2018 versions of GIT.

Note: You may be able to just do git mv oldpath newpath now, as pointed out in VonC's answer. (Ensure you are using the latest version of git)

Intrigante answered 4/4, 2011 at 14:52 Comment(12)
note to self: for git add newpath don't use a trailing slashGoldfinch
Anyone successfully rename a submodule in this way?Warpath
this works for me and the submodule appears as renamed in the status output (git status) after the move.Wrenn
With such a workflow, you will only create a symlink to the sub-directory you use as a submodule. Symlink is just a part of the global submodule functionality. This mean that when you clone the repo that use the renamed submodules, you may end with the following error: No submodule mapping found in .gitmodules for path 'your-oldpath' After you remove the oldpath (*git rm oldpath), you should use git submodule add REPO-URL newpath instead of "git add newpath*. When done, git status will display something like this: renamed: oldpath -> newpathWaziristan
@Bertrand's advice worked for me. i also found that i had to delete the oldpath sections from .gitmodules and .git/config.Misprize
This solutions doesn’t work for me because when using git add command, the submodule was included into the project as a simple directory and not as a submodule. try $ mv submodule-oldpath ~/another-location $ git rm submodule-oldpath $ git submodule add submodule-repository-URL submodule-newpath bcachet.github.io/development/2012/05/25/rename-git-submoduleSilassilastic
My output was fatal: This operation must be run in a work tree fatal: 'git status --porcelain' failed in submodule newpath. I used git submodule add SUB_URL new_path instead of git add new_path, and it worked.Substantive
If you do have the problem with the working tree, you can also edit the .git/modules/SUBMODULE/config file, such that the worktree points to the the right directory again.Paulin
This did not work for me, as I am using eclipse that probably has a bug in that case. So I had to remove and add again the submodule. This is probably due to the fact that in this way the module points to a work tree placed in a directory with the same name of the actual submodule path.Kitchen
This did not worked for me with git 2.13.1. But simply doing git mv old new works like a charm. I only need to do git commit to complete the changes.Feliks
Yeah that deleted the submodule from .gitmodules so it doesn't really work.Antiquary
Saying "the latest version of git" does not age well. A specific version number would be better.Disproportionate
C
332

Git1.8.5 (October 2013) should simplify the process. Simply do a:

git mv A B

"git mv A B", when moving a submodule A has been taught to relocate its working tree and to adjust the paths in the .gitmodules file.


See more in commit 0656781fadca1:

Currently using "git mv" on a submodule moves the submodule's work tree in that of the superproject. But the submodule's path setting in .gitmodules is left untouched, which is now inconsistent with the work tree and makes git commands that rely on the proper path -> name mapping (like status and diff) behave strangely.

Let "git mv" help here by not only moving the submodule's work tree but also updating the "submodule.<submodule name>.path" setting from the .gitmodules file and stage both.
This doesn't happen when no .gitmodules file is found and only issues a warning when it doesn't have a section for this submodule. This is because the user might just use plain gitlinks without the .gitmodules file or has already updated the path setting by hand before issuing the "git mv" command (in which case the warning reminds him that mv would have done that for him).
Only when .gitmodules is found and contains merge conflicts the mv command will fail and tell the user to resolve the conflict before trying again.


git 2.9 (June 2016) will improve git mv for submodule:

See commit a127331 (19 Apr 2016) by Stefan Beller (stefanbeller).
(Merged by Junio C Hamano -- gitster -- in commit 9cb50a3, 29 Apr 2016)

mv: allow moving nested submodules

"git mv old new" did not adjust the path for a submodule that lives as a subdirectory inside old/ directory correctly.

submodules however need to update their link to the git directory as well as updates to the .gitmodules file.

Cuddle answered 10/9, 2013 at 7:17 Comment(21)
This breaks your repository when nested submodules exist within the renamed submodule. I had to manually rename .git/module/oldmodule to .git/module/newmodule, rename the module in each submodule's .git file (gitdir path), and modify the worktree path for each nested config file (.git/config, .git/modules/<module>/config, .git/modules/<module>/<nested module>/config, etc.). Not simple, but works fine.Mccarthy
@JamesWald ok. I don't see yet a patch in preparation in github.com/gitster/git/branches. I'll keep looking.Cuddle
Here's my version of moving/renaming a git submodule. This could be scripted, by somebody ;) https://mcmap.net/q/22679/-how-do-i-move-an-existing-git-submodule-within-a-git-repositoryCombings
This does not seem to work with recursive submodules. You need to do this: https://mcmap.net/q/22680/-git-status-returns-fatal-not-a-git-repository-but-git-exists-and-head-has-proper-permissions.Amylo
@AndrewMao with which version of Git did you see that issue?Cuddle
@Cuddle 2.0.4. Is it fixed in a later version?Amylo
@AndrewMao it depends on the issue: are you saying that the .gitmodules within the submodule moved isn't properly changed? (while the .gitmodules of the main repo is)Cuddle
@Cuddle .gitmodules contains no absolute path information. However {submodule}/.git and .git/modules/submodules/{submodule}/config does, and this is updated correctly for the first-level submodules but not the second-level submodules, when a first-level submodule is moved within the parent repo. I had to update both of the second-level submodule files manually for git status and other commands to work again. git submodule sync doesn't fix it, although --recursive might (although I forgot to try.)Amylo
@AndrewMao second level information are in the main parent repo? Not in the moved submodule?Cuddle
@Cuddle one bit is in the first level submodule and another is in the second, neither are in the parent, both have absolute paths.Amylo
@AndrewMao ok, and would a git submodule update --recursive --init done from the main parent repo fix those automatically after the git mv?Cuddle
Will check and get back to you.Amylo
This answer is not the full story: only the path is renamed. Inspecting the .gitmodules file, only the 'path = ....' line is updated. The module definition '[submodule "...."]' isn't touched.Rhizogenic
git mv just does not work for this purpose on my machine.Shenika
@AlexanderDyagilev OK. What version of git were you using, on which OS? Also do you git mv the submodule folder with or without a trailing slash? (git mv folder newpathor git mv folder/ newpath/?)Cuddle
@VonC, 2.9.2.windows.1. I did "git mv currentname newname".Shenika
@AlexanderDyagilev Any chance to try that with a Gti 2.21.1?Cuddle
@Cuddle Sorry, I've resolved the issue already... Btw, I've updated Git too, and it shows me 2.20.1 only...Shenika
@Cuddle Using "git mv currentname newname" - I get the error "fatal: cannot move directory over file source=currentname , destination=newname/currentname"... git version 2.23.0.windows.1 in windows 10, running from git bash. The currentname and newname only differ by the case of the first letter (e.g. Code -> code).Highflier
@Highflier Does the issue persists with Git 2.27? If yes, can you open a new question?Cuddle
@Cuddle I've solved it by renaming it to a temp name and then to the correct name - I suspect it was due to the fact that the names differ only in their case, and windows' paths are case insensitive. Although the error message could have been more helpful.Highflier
I
122

I found following workflow working:

  • Update .gitmodules
  • mv oldpath newpath
  • git rm oldpath
  • git add newpath
  • git submodule sync

Note: this approach does not update the index and .gitmodules properly in 2018 versions of GIT.

Note: You may be able to just do git mv oldpath newpath now, as pointed out in VonC's answer. (Ensure you are using the latest version of git)

Intrigante answered 4/4, 2011 at 14:52 Comment(12)
note to self: for git add newpath don't use a trailing slashGoldfinch
Anyone successfully rename a submodule in this way?Warpath
this works for me and the submodule appears as renamed in the status output (git status) after the move.Wrenn
With such a workflow, you will only create a symlink to the sub-directory you use as a submodule. Symlink is just a part of the global submodule functionality. This mean that when you clone the repo that use the renamed submodules, you may end with the following error: No submodule mapping found in .gitmodules for path 'your-oldpath' After you remove the oldpath (*git rm oldpath), you should use git submodule add REPO-URL newpath instead of "git add newpath*. When done, git status will display something like this: renamed: oldpath -> newpathWaziristan
@Bertrand's advice worked for me. i also found that i had to delete the oldpath sections from .gitmodules and .git/config.Misprize
This solutions doesn’t work for me because when using git add command, the submodule was included into the project as a simple directory and not as a submodule. try $ mv submodule-oldpath ~/another-location $ git rm submodule-oldpath $ git submodule add submodule-repository-URL submodule-newpath bcachet.github.io/development/2012/05/25/rename-git-submoduleSilassilastic
My output was fatal: This operation must be run in a work tree fatal: 'git status --porcelain' failed in submodule newpath. I used git submodule add SUB_URL new_path instead of git add new_path, and it worked.Substantive
If you do have the problem with the working tree, you can also edit the .git/modules/SUBMODULE/config file, such that the worktree points to the the right directory again.Paulin
This did not work for me, as I am using eclipse that probably has a bug in that case. So I had to remove and add again the submodule. This is probably due to the fact that in this way the module points to a work tree placed in a directory with the same name of the actual submodule path.Kitchen
This did not worked for me with git 2.13.1. But simply doing git mv old new works like a charm. I only need to do git commit to complete the changes.Feliks
Yeah that deleted the submodule from .gitmodules so it doesn't really work.Antiquary
Saying "the latest version of git" does not age well. A specific version number would be better.Disproportionate
S
19

The correct solution is:

mv oldpath ~/another-location
git rm oldpath
git submodule add submodule-repository-URL newpath
Silassilastic answered 6/5, 2013 at 15:9 Comment(2)
Did you pull this word for word from this location? bcachet.github.io/development/2012/05/25/rename-git-submodule If so, please make sure to give attribution to that site in your answer.Demodulation
The link is broken.Lusitania
C
14

It's not possible to rename it, so you've to remove it first (deinit) and add it again.

So after removing it:

git submodule deinit <path>
git rm --cached <path>

you may also double check and remove the references to it in:

  • .gitmodules
  • .git/config
  • remove reference folder from .git/modules/<name> (best to make a backup), as each folder has config file where it keeps the reference to its worktree

then stage your changes by committing any changes to your repo by:

git commit -am 'Removing submodule.'

and double check if you don't have any outstanding issues by:

git submodule update
git submodule sync
git submodule status

so now you can add the git submodule again:

git submodule add --name <custom_name> [email protected]:foo/bar.git <my/path>
Chiclayo answered 28/2, 2016 at 17:2 Comment(2)
also it is actually todaySontag
The questions title is a misnomer, it pertains to the path, not nameLetterhead
N
12

I just tried a few of the suggested above. I'm running:

$ git --version
git version 1.8.4

I found it was best to de-init the submodule, remove the directory and create a new submodule.

git submodule deinit <submodule name>

git rm <submodule folder name>

git submodule add <address to remote git repo> <new folder name>

At least that is what worked for me best. YMMV!

Nympholepsy answered 10/3, 2014 at 19:14 Comment(0)
Q
5

MacOs: When I wanna use VonC solution to change submodule folder Common to lowercase:

git mv Common common

I get

fatal: renaming 'Common' failed: Invalid argument

Solution - use some temporary folder name and move twice:

git mv Common commontemp
git mv commontemp common

That's all :)

Quintin answered 5/9, 2018 at 17:55 Comment(0)
A
4

Edit the .gitmodules file to rename the submodule and then rename the submodule directory.

I think you might need to do a git submodule sync afterwards, but I'm not in a position to check right now.

Abominable answered 24/12, 2010 at 14:59 Comment(2)
This causes the new submodule name to occur as a new commit and not as a rename. But perhaps this is the way it has to be ?Wrenn
@Lars: Do be sure to remove the old submodule directory too!Kannan

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