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[PATCH v6 1/2] submodule: prevent overwriting .gitmodules entry on path reuse

From
K Jayatheerth <jayatheerthkulkarni2005@gmail.com>
Date
May 24, 2025, 06:48 UTC
Message-ID
<20250524064847.51900-2-jayatheerthkulkarni2005@gmail.com>
In-Reply-To
<20250524064847.51900-1-jayatheerthkulkarni2005@gmail.com>

Adding a submodule at a path that previously hosted another submodule (e.g., 'child') reuses the submodule name derived from the path. If the original submodule was only moved (e.g., to 'child_old') and not renamed, this silently overwrites its configuration in .gitmodules.

This behavior loses user configuration and causes confusion when the original submodule is expected to remain intact. It assumes that the path-derived name is always safe to reuse, even though the name might still be in use elsewhere in the repository.

Teach `module_add()` to check if the computed submodule name already exists in the repository's submodule config, and if so, refuse the operation unless the user explicitly renames or uses force to auto increment.

Signed-off-by: K Jayatheerth <jayatheerthkulkarni2005@gmail.com>
---
 builtin/submodule--helper.c | 28 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 t/t7400-submodule-basic.sh  | 23 +++++++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 51 insertions(+)
diff --git a/builtin/submodule--helper.c b/builtin/submodule--helper.c
index 53da2116dd..9f6df833f0 100644
--- a/builtin/submodule--helper.c
+++ b/builtin/submodule--helper.c
@@ -3444,6 +3444,10 @@ static int module_add(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix,
 	struct add_data add_data = ADD_DATA_INIT;
 	const char *ref_storage_format = NULL;
 	char *to_free = NULL;
+	const struct submodule *existing;
+	struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT;
+	int i;
+	char *sm_name_to_free = NULL;
 	struct option options[] = {
 		OPT_STRING('b', "branch", &add_data.branch, N_("branch"),
 			   N_("branch of repository to add as submodule")),
@@ -3546,6 +3550,29 @@ static int module_add(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix,
 	if(!add_data.sm_name)
 		add_data.sm_name = add_data.sm_path;
 
+	existing = submodule_from_name(the_repository,
+					null_oid(the_hash_algo),
+					add_data.sm_name);
+
+	if (existing && strcmp(existing->path, add_data.sm_path)) {
+		if (!force) {
+			die(_("submodule name '%s' already used for path '%s'"),
+			add_data.sm_name, existing->path);
+		}
+
+		/* --force: build <name><n> until unique */
+		for (i = 1; ; i++) {
+			strbuf_reset(&buf);
+			strbuf_addf(&buf, "%s%d", add_data.sm_name, i);
+			if (!submodule_from_name(the_repository,
+						null_oid(the_hash_algo),
+						buf.buf)) {
+				break;
+			}
+		}
+
+		add_data.sm_name = sm_name_to_free = strbuf_detach(&buf, NULL);
+	}
 	if (check_submodule_name(add_data.sm_name))
 		die(_("'%s' is not a valid submodule name"), add_data.sm_name);
 
@@ -3561,6 +3588,7 @@ static int module_add(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix,
 
 	ret = 0;
 cleanup:
+	free(sm_name_to_free);
 	free(add_data.sm_path);
 	free(to_free);
 	strbuf_release(&sb);
diff --git a/t/t7400-submodule-basic.sh b/t/t7400-submodule-basic.sh
index d6a501d453..07951f0c6d 100755
--- a/t/t7400-submodule-basic.sh
+++ b/t/t7400-submodule-basic.sh
@@ -1482,4 +1482,27 @@ test_expect_success '`submodule init` and `init.templateDir`' '
 	)
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'submodule add fails when name is reused' '
+  git init test-submodule &&
+  (
+    cd test-submodule &&
+    git commit --allow-empty -m init &&
+
+    git init ../child-origin &&
+    git -C ../child-origin commit --allow-empty -m init &&
+
+    git submodule add ../child-origin child &&
+    git commit -m "Add submodule child" &&
+
+    git mv child child_old &&
+    git commit -m "Move child to child_old" &&
+
+    # Now adding a *new* repo at the old name must fail
+    git init ../child2-origin &&
+    git -C ../child2-origin commit --allow-empty -m init &&
+    test_must_fail git submodule add ../child2-origin child
+  )
+'
+
+
 test_done
-- 
2.49.GIT
Previous: K JayatheerthNext: K Jayatheerth
Message 18 of 24 in “submodule: prevent overwriting .gitmodules entry on path reuse”
  1. submodule: prevent overwriting .gitmodules entry on path reuseK Jayatheerth, May 10, 2025
  2. JAYATHEERTH KMay 10, 2025
  3. Junio C HamanoMay 12, 2025
  4. JAYATHEERTH KMay 12, 2025
  5. submodule: prevent overwriting .gitmodules entry on path reuseK Jayatheerth, May 13, 2025
  6. Junio C HamanoMay 13, 2025
  7. submodule: prevent overwriting .gitmodules entry on path reuseK Jayatheerth, May 14, 2025
  8. Junio C HamanoMay 14, 2025
  9. JAYATHEERTH KMay 16, 2025
  10. submodule: prevent overwriting .gitmodules entry on path reuseK Jayatheerth, May 16, 2025
  11. JAYATHEERTH KMay 16, 2025
  12. submodule: prevent overwriting .gitmodules entry on path reuseK Jayatheerth, May 18, 2025
  13. JAYATHEERTH KMay 18, 2025
  14. Junio C HamanoMay 19, 2025
  15. JAYATHEERTH KMay 20, 2025
  16. Junio C HamanoMay 20, 2025
  17. 0/2 Avoid submodule overwritten and skip redundant active entriesK Jayatheerth, May 24, 2025
  18. 1/2 submodule: prevent overwriting .gitmodules entry on path reuseK Jayatheerth, May 24, 2025
  19. 2/2 submodule: skip redundant active entries when pattern covers pathK Jayatheerth, May 24, 2025
  20. JAYATHEERTH KMay 24, 2025
  21. 0/2 Avoid submodule overwritten and skip redundant active entriesK Jayatheerth, May 24, 2025
  22. 1/2 The seventeenth batchK Jayatheerth, May 24, 2025
  23. JAYATHEERTH KMay 24, 2025
  24. 2/2 submodule: prevent overwriting .gitmodules entry on path reuseK Jayatheerth, May 24, 2025

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