Submodules

yaggui lists the submodules of a repository in the left panel, shows whether each one matches the commit the superproject records, and runs git submodule update for you. A submodule is another repository pinned at a given commit inside yours: see Git Tools - Submodules.

See the submodules and their state

The Submodules section of the left panel lists every submodule declared in .gitmodules, by name. The section is collapsed by default and its header shows a count; it reads No submodule when there is none. The filter at the top of the panel matches submodule names and paths.

Chips next to a name tell you its state:

Chip	Meaning
not initialized	The submodule was never checked out in this working tree: its folder is empty.
moved	The submodule is checked out at another commit than the one recorded by the superproject. The tooltip reads “Recorded <sha>, checked out <sha>”.
modified	The submodule has local changes (staged, modified or untracked files). Tooltip: The submodule has local changes.

The state is read without running Git and refreshes whenever the repository’s status or refs change, and after every operation.

Clicking a submodule only selects it: its recorded commit belongs to the submodule’s own history, so the graph does not move. Double-clicking does nothing.

Submodule context menu

Right-click a submodule to open its menu:

Item	When	What it does
Open in a new tab	Always shown; disabled with the hint Initialize it first when the submodule is not initialized	Opens the submodule as its own repository.
Update	Initialized submodule	git submodule update --progress -- <path>
Initialize	Not initialized	git submodule update --progress --init -- <path>
Update recursively	Always	git submodule update --progress --recursive -- <path>, with --init added when the submodule is not initialized
Copy path	Always	Copies the path relative to the repository root.
Copy SHA	A commit is recorded	Copies the recorded commit SHA.

Initialize and update submodules

Updating checks out, in each submodule, the commit recorded by the superproject. Initializing does the same for a submodule that was never checked out, after registering it. Both may download commits from the submodule’s remote.

To act on one submodule, use its context menu (see above). To act on all of them, open the command palette and run:

Palette action	Command
Update submodules	git submodule update --progress --
Initialize and update all submodules (recursive)	git submodule update --progress --init --recursive --

Both actions are available when the repository has at least one submodule. They have no default shortcut; you can assign one in Preferences.

The update runs in the background: the status bar shows it as Submodules with its progress, and you can cancel it there. When it ends, yaggui shows Submodules updated, the moved chip disappears, and the modified chip stays if the submodule had local changes: an update never touches them. On failure, the toast shows the error from the error catalog, for example a network or authentication error (see Authentication).

To clone a repository together with its submodules, check Clone submodules in the clone dialog (see Open a repository).

yaggui does not add, remove (deinit), sync or reconfigure submodules. Use the integrated terminal for that.

Note

A submodule update cannot be undone: it downloaded and checked out content. It appears in the undo history as “submodule update” and blocks undo past that point. See Undo and redo.

Open a submodule in a tab

Choose Open in a new tab in the submodule’s context menu, or Open the submodule under its diff. yaggui opens the submodule folder as a repository in a new tab (or switches to the tab that already shows it) and adds it to your recent repositories. Only initialized submodules can be opened.

Submodule changes in the changes panel and the diff

Changes made inside a submodule do not appear in the superproject’s changes panel. A submodule appears there only when its checked-out commit differs from the one in the index (the gitlink moved), or when a commit or the index changes the recorded commit.

The file row carries a submodule chip. Selecting it shows a Submodule commit changed panel with the old and new short SHAs instead of a text diff. Under it:

• The submodule also has local changes. appears when the submodule is modified.
• Open the submodule opens it in a tab (initialized submodules only).
• Check out the recorded commit appears in the working-tree diff when the checked-out commit differs from the recorded one. It runs git submodule update --progress -- <path>.

You stage a submodule change as a whole entry: hunk and line staging do not apply. See Staging and Diff.