How can I add a specific folder from a git repo as a git submodule?

Question

I have a git repo and I want to add a submodule to it. Problem is, the submodule exists as a folder inside another repo. Can I add only that folder as a submodule?

I found a solution in SO that worked for me: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/9035895/how-do-i-add-a-submodule-to-a-sub-directory — ItayB, Mar 15 '16 at 13:37

score 40 · Answer 1 · answered Sep 03 '13 at 10:36

40

I ended up doing this:

Create a submodules directory.
Add the submodule in this directory.
Create a symlink to the specific directory inside the submodule.

This way you have default Git submodule behaviour and in your project you only use a subset of the whole submodule.

answered Sep 03 '13 at 10:36

gitaarik

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hmmm I don't know if this will fly with my Windows developers but we shall try it and tell – fixmycode Jun 27 '17 at 23:51
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@CaptainMan this works if you install GitBash with the "Enable Symbolic Links" permission! – fixmycode Feb 22 '19 at 16:50
Excellent. Except antora/asciidoctor doesn't support symlinks :( – mn_test347 Feb 06 '20 at 18:08

score 26 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 10:31

If you really need to include part of an other repository within the history of your own repo, then the subtree merge strategy is more adequate than submodules.

But in both case, the full repository is linked to your repo, not just one directory.
And partial cloning is not possible.

You could try and isolate that directory in its own repository, and then add it as a submodule, but that means its history will be totally seperated from the repo its was coming from originally.

score 0 · Answer 3 · edited Sep 25 '19 at 06:17

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Create new branch
Move required files to new branch
Add sub module to super repository
Checkout sub-module to new branch

edited Sep 25 '19 at 06:17

Simson

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answered Sep 25 '19 at 04:11

BinaryMaker

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How can I add a specific folder from a git repo as a git submodule?

3 Answers3

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