On Fri, Oct 07 2022, Michael S. Tsirkin wrote: > THE CONFIGURATION OF SUBMODULES > Submodule operations can be configured using the following mechanisms (from highest to lowest precedence): > > • The command line for those commands that support taking submodules as part of their pathspecs. Most commands have a boolean > flag --recurse-submodules which specify whether to recurse into submodules. Examples are grep and checkout. Some commands > take enums, such as fetch and push, where you can specify how submodules are affected. > > • The configuration inside the submodule. This includes $GIT_DIR/config in the submodule, but also settings in the tree such > as a .gitattributes or .gitignore files that specify behavior of commands inside the submodule. > > For example an effect from the submodule’s .gitignore file would be observed when you run git status > --ignore-submodules=none in the superproject. This collects information from the submodule’s working directory by running > status in the submodule while paying attention to the .gitignore file of the submodule. > > The submodule’s $GIT_DIR/config file would come into play when running git push --recurse-submodules=check in the > superproject, as this would check if the submodule has any changes not published to any remote. The remotes are configured > in the submodule as usual in the $GIT_DIR/config file. > > • The configuration file $GIT_DIR/config in the superproject. Git only recurses into active submodules (see "ACTIVE > SUBMODULES" section below). > > If the submodule is not yet initialized, then the configuration inside the submodule does not exist yet, so where to obtain > the submodule from is configured here for example. > > • The .gitmodules file inside the superproject. A project usually uses this file to suggest defaults for the upstream > collection of repositories for the mapping that is required between a submodule’s name and its path. > > This file mainly serves as the mapping between the name and path of submodules in the superproject, such that the > submodule’s Git directory can be located. > > If the submodule has never been initialized, this is the only place where submodule configuration is found. It serves as > the last fallback to specify where to obtain the submodule from. > > > However, when we are talking about the recurse attribute, it is > not taken from .gitmodules - only command line and .git/config seem > to be consulted. > Is this a bug or a feature? It's a (security) feature. We have had disussions[1] about how to safely read in-repo config, but we are very far away from that becoming a reality (if it ever happens). If we read this from the .gitmodules the repo could change how you interact with your submodules. 1. https://lore.kernel.org/git/YzXwZQbM69eNJfm7@nand.local/
