'How to change a git submodule to point to a subfolder?

Skimming through the SubModule tutorial, I created a submodule out of the boto project. Then, I discovered that I actually need only a subset of this project - specifically, the boto folder.

I would like to change my submodule to point to this folder. When I look in .gitmodules, I see

[submodule "backup/src/boto"]
    path = backup/src/boto
    url = https://github.com/boto/boto.git

What URL should I use instead of https://github.com/boto/boto.git? After I change the URL, should I delete the boto folder locally and re-pull?

git git-submodules

Solution 1:^[1]

You cannot clone only a part of a repository. This is because git treats the repository as a whole object : when you get it, you get it all.

So, the solution here would be to fetch the submodule in another directory, then use a symlink to achieve your goal.

Solution 2:^[2]

What you want to do is create a branch in the submodule and move the folder up and delete what you don't need. You can then manage that branch instead. If you want to push up your changes, you should be able to back merge first. Git will know that you moved the files and do the merge successfully.

Hope this helps.

Solution 3:^[3]

All the answers here are pretty dated. You could use the newer git sparse-checkout command docs here, further examples in this article to grab pieces of a repo. This is effective if you only want a directory or two from a larger git project.

TLDR:

git sparse-checkout init --cone
git sparse-checkout set <dir1> <dir2> ...
git checkout main

Sources

This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Overflow and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Source: Stack Overflow

Solution	Source
Solution 1	Artefact2
Solution 2	Adam Dymitruk
Solution 3	Justin Hammond

'How to change a git submodule to point to a subfolder?

Solution 1:[1]

Solution 2:[2]

Solution 3:[3]

Sources

Related Questions

Solution 1:^[1]

Solution 2:^[2]

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