When you locally create git submodules as on this script:
# Create the directory structure
mkdir main_repo
mkdir main_repo/unrelated_repo
mkdir main_repo/unrelated_repo/main_repo_submodule
cd main_repo
# Setup the unrelated_repo
cd unrelated_repo
printf "# UnRelated Repository\n\n" > README.md
git init
git add -f README.md
git commit -m "Added the unrelated repository first commit."
git remote add origin https://github.com/user/unrelated_repo
# Setup the main_repo_submodule
cd main_repo_submodule
printf "# Main Repository Submodule\n\nThis is a submodule from the \`main_repo\`, and not from the \`unrelated_repo\`\n" > README.md
git init
git add -f README.md
git commit -m "Added the main repository submodule first commit."
git remote add origin https://github.com/user/main_repo_submodule
# Setup the main_repo
cd ../..
printf "# Main Repo\n\nThis is the main repository which contains submodules\n" > README.md
printf "\nThis is a main_repo_file on the unrelated repository\n\n" > unrelated_repo/main_repo_file.txt
printf "\n*\n**\n\n" > unrelated_repo/.gitignore
git init
git add -f README.md unrelated_repo/main_repo_file.txt unrelated_repo/.gitignore
git submodule add -f -- https://github.com/user/main_repo_submodule "unrelated_repo/main_repo_submodule"
git commit -m "Added the first main repository first commit."
git remote add origin https://github.com/user/main_repo
The submodule .git folder will be located on the folder:
main_repo/unrelated_repo/main_repo_submodule/.git/
However, if I push this submodule to a remote server do to perform a:
git clone --recursive
The submodule git folder main_repo/unrelated_repo/main_repo_submodule/.git/ will be located on:
main_repo/.git/modules/main_repo_submodule/
And on its place will be a synlink to its git folder on the parent repository. So how to put a submodule just create on this parent folder .git/modules/ folder, wihtout cloning it recursively?
It is necessary because I want to keep my submodules folder on the parent modules folder, keeping the workspace clean, without having to recursively re-clone everything every time a new submodule is added.
Update
I tried doing:
# Move the submodule to the parent repository
mkdir -p .git/modules
# shopt -s dotglob
mv unrelated_repo/main_repo_submodule/.git/ .git/modules
printf "gitdir: ../../.git/modules/main_repo_submodule\n" > unrelated_repo/main_repo_submodule/.git
But git says the submodule is not found.
