How to change the remote repository for a git submodule?

When you need to change the remote repository of a Git submodule, it is often because the original repository has been moved or you want to point to a different branch or version. Here is a step-by-step process to change the remote repository URL of the submodule:

Step 1: Navigate to the Submodule Directory

First, navigate to the directory containing the submodule. Use the cd command:

bash
cd path/to/submodule

Step 2: View the Current Remote Repository

Use the following command to view the current remote repository of the submodule:

bash
git remote -v

This will display the URL of the remote repository.

Step 3: Change the Remote Repository URL

If you need to change the remote repository URL, use the git remote set-url command:

bash
git remote set-url origin new-url

Here, origin is the default name for the remote repository, and new-url is the URL of the new repository you want to point to.

Step 4: Sync and Verify Changes

After changing the remote repository URL, verify the change by fetching the latest code:

bash
git fetch
git pull

This ensures the submodule is synchronized with the new remote repository.

Step 5: Commit and Push Changes

Finally, update the main project to reflect the new submodule reference:

bash
cd ..
git add path/to/submodule
git commit -m "Update submodule remote URL to new-url"
git push

This completes the change of the submodule's remote repository and ensures the main project updates the reference to the submodule.

Example

Suppose you have a project MyProject that contains a submodule LibraryModule, and you need to change LibraryModule's remote repository from https://github.com/olduser/oldrepo.git to https://github.com/newuser/newrepo.git. You can follow these steps:

bash
cd MyProject/LibraryModule
git remote set-url origin https://github.com/newuser/newrepo.git
git fetch
cd ..
git add LibraryModule
git commit -m "Update LibraryModule remote URL to new repo"
git push

Through this process, LibraryModule's remote repository is successfully changed, and the main project MyProject correctly references the new repository address.