Git Subtrees - A Primer

Feb 19, 2015

Problem

Difficult to modularize code and maintain separate repos. Submodules are difficult or problematic to use.

Solution

Git Subtrees allow you to track and update a repo within a repo without the headache of submodules.

For a more in depth read on what / why - check out Vinicius’ awesome article.

{% include responsive-embed url=“http://www.youtube.com/embed/E7YWeRFHpXg” %}

Setup

Add remote to repo:

git remote add my-subtree [email protected]:account/project.git

Add subtree

git subtree add --prefix=path/to-repo repo-name branch

Push back to subtree’s repo:

git subtree push --prefix=path/to-repo repo-name branch

Pulling changes from subtree’s repo back to main repo:

git subtree pull --prefix=path/to-repo repo-name branch

Reference: https://medium.com/@v/git-subtrees-a-tutorial-6ff568381844