From 4173df5187c8ba8bc2cc1a215f25b284d70631da Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Adrian Ratiu Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2026 20:46:25 +0200 Subject: submodule: introduce extensions.submodulePathConfig The idea of this extension is to abstract away the submodule gitdir path implementation: everyone is expected to use the config and not worry about how the path is computed internally, either in git or other implementations. With this extension enabled, the submodule..gitdir repo config becomes the single source of truth for all submodule gitdir paths. The submodule..gitdir config is added automatically for all new submodules when this extension is enabled. Git will throw an error if the extension is enabled and a config is missing, advising users how to migrate. Migration is manual for now. E.g. to add a missing config entry for an existing "foo" module: git config submodule.foo.gitdir .git/modules/foo Suggested-by: Junio C Hamano Suggested-by: Phillip Wood Suggested-by: Patrick Steinhardt Signed-off-by: Adrian Ratiu Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano --- Documentation/config/extensions.adoc | 23 +++++++++++++++++++++++ Documentation/config/submodule.adoc | 7 +++++++ 2 files changed, 30 insertions(+) (limited to 'Documentation') diff --git a/Documentation/config/extensions.adoc b/Documentation/config/extensions.adoc index 532456644b..f4f57c9114 100644 --- a/Documentation/config/extensions.adoc +++ b/Documentation/config/extensions.adoc @@ -73,6 +73,29 @@ relativeWorktrees::: repaired with either the `--relative-paths` option or with the `worktree.useRelativePaths` config set to `true`. +submodulePathConfig::: + This extension is for the minority of users who: ++ +-- +* Encounter errors like `refusing to create ... in another submodule's git dir` + due to a number of reasons, like case-insensitive filesystem conflicts when + creating modules named `foo` and `Foo`. +* Require more flexible submodule layouts, for example due to nested names like + `foo`, `foo/bar` and `foo/baz` not supported by the default gitdir mechanism + which uses `.git/modules/` locations, causing further conflicts. +-- ++ +When `extensions.submodulePathConfig` is enabled, the `submodule..gitdir` +config becomes the single source of truth for all submodule gitdir paths and is +automatically set for all new submodules both during clone and init operations. ++ +Git will error out if a module does not have a corresponding +`submodule..gitdir` set. ++ +Existing (pre-extension) submodules need to be migrated by adding the missing +config entries. This is done manually for now, e.g. for each submodule: +`git config submodule..gitdir .git/modules/`. + worktreeConfig::: If enabled, then worktrees will load config settings from the `$GIT_DIR/config.worktree` file in addition to the diff --git a/Documentation/config/submodule.adoc b/Documentation/config/submodule.adoc index 0672d99117..74f1659a91 100644 --- a/Documentation/config/submodule.adoc +++ b/Documentation/config/submodule.adoc @@ -52,6 +52,13 @@ submodule..active:: submodule.active config option. See linkgit:gitsubmodules[7] for details. +submodule..gitdir:: + This sets the gitdir path for submodule . This configuration is + respected when `extensions.submodulePathConfig` is enabled, otherwise it + has no effect. When enabled, this config becomes the single source of + truth for submodule gitdir paths and Git will error if it is missing. + See linkgit:git-config[1] for details. + submodule.active:: A repeated field which contains a pathspec used to match against a submodule's path to determine if the submodule is of interest to git -- cgit v1.3-5-g9baa