# Git submodule removal and replacement results in failures

1 messages from 2015-02-13 to 2015-02-13. Participants: Robert Dailey.
Thread: https://gitlist.dev/t/38565

## Robert Dailey, 2015-02-13 16:48

Subject: Git submodule removal and replacement results in failures
Message-ID: <CAHd499CyBk-Mt+AwLMrOjOoXKTJDk4hZBDptt3iXbo8tCiTx3g@mail.gmail.com>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/CAHd499CyBk-Mt%2BAwLMrOjOoXKTJDk4hZBDptt3iXbo8tCiTx3g%40mail.gmail.com

```
Let's say I have a submodule set to directory "foo". If I remove this
submodule in 1 commit (git rm -f foo) and then in a 2nd commit after
that, physically commit those files, the next person that does a `git
submodule update --recursive` results in failure because it says it
can't overwrite files.

I'm guessing what happens here is that when the submodule is being
updated, it is not de-inited first, so the 2nd commit is trying to be
applied but the submodule files aren't removed first, so it thinks it
is going to replace unversioned files.

Is there a way to make the submodule files be removed during an
update, so that subsequent commits that may add files to replace the
submodule aren't overwriting unversioned files?

Thanks.

```