Git Submodule

A Git submodule is a way to include one Git repository inside another. This is useful when you want to manage dependencies or separate concerns in a modular fashion.

🔹 Why Use Submodules?

• To include external libraries or dependencies without merging their history into your main project.
• To keep separate repositories but still work with them as part of a larger project.
• To track a specific commit of an external project instead of the latest changes.

🔹 Basic Commands

1️⃣ Adding a Submodule

git submodule add <repository-url> <path>

This adds a submodule and records its exact commit in your project.

2️⃣ Cloning a Repository with Submodules

By default, git clone does not pull submodules. To clone a repo with submodules, use:

git clone --recursive <repository-url>

If you forgot --recursive, initialize submodules manually:

git submodule update --init --recursive

3️⃣ Updating a Submodule

To update the submodule to the latest commit from its repository:

cd <submodule-path>
git pull origin main  # Update the submodule to the latest commit
cd ..
git add <submodule-path>
git commit -m "Updated submodule"

4️⃣ Removing a Submodule

git submodule deinit -f <path>
git rm -f <path>
rm -rf .git/modules/<path>

This removes all traces of the submodule from your repo.

Let me know if you need more details! 🚀