v5, 9 partssubmodule: support reading .gitmodules when it's not in the working tree

builtin/submodule--helper.c, git-submodule.sh, submodule-config.c, t/t7411-submodule-config.sh, t/t7416-submodule-sparse-gitmodules.sh

diff --git a/builtin/submodule--helper.c b/builtin/submodule--helper.c
index bd14f57d00..f72f6ee58a 100644
--- a/builtin/submodule--helper.c
+++ b/builtin/submodule--helper.c
@@ -2032,8 +2032,12 @@ static int module_config(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		return print_config_from_gitmodules(argv[1]);
 
 	/* Equivalent to ACTION_SET in builtin/config.c */
-	if (argc == 3)
+	if (argc == 3) {
+		if (!is_writing_gitmodules_ok())
+			die(_("please make sure that the .gitmodules file is in the working tree"));
+
 		return config_set_in_gitmodules_file_gently(argv[1], argv[2]);
+	}
 
 	usage_with_options(git_submodule_helper_usage, module_config_options);
 }
diff --git a/git-submodule.sh b/git-submodule.sh
index 25b9bc58cb..bff855f54a 100755
--- a/git-submodule.sh
+++ b/git-submodule.sh
@@ -159,6 +159,11 @@ cmd_add()
 		shift
 	done
 
+	if ! git submodule--helper config --check-writeable >/dev/null 2>&1
+	then
+		 die "$(eval_gettext "please make sure that the .gitmodules file is in the working tree")"
+	fi
+
 	if test -n "$reference_path"
 	then
 		is_absolute_path "$reference_path" ||
diff --git a/submodule-config.c b/submodule-config.c
index 61a555e920..bdb1d0e2c9 100644
--- a/submodule-config.c
+++ b/submodule-config.c
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 #include "cache.h"
+#include "dir.h"
 #include "repository.h"
 #include "config.h"
 #include "submodule-config.h"
@@ -603,8 +604,21 @@ static void submodule_cache_check_init(struct repository *repo)
 static void config_from_gitmodules(config_fn_t fn, struct repository *repo, void *data)
 {
 	if (repo->worktree) {
-		char *file = repo_worktree_path(repo, GITMODULES_FILE);
-		git_config_from_file(fn, file, data);
+		struct git_config_source config_source = { 0 };
+		const struct config_options opts = { 0 };
+		struct object_id oid;
+		char *file;
+
+		file = repo_worktree_path(repo, GITMODULES_FILE);
+		if (file_exists(file))
+			config_source.file = file;
+		else if (get_oid(GITMODULES_INDEX, &oid) >= 0)
+			config_source.blob = GITMODULES_INDEX;
+		else if (get_oid(GITMODULES_HEAD, &oid) >= 0)
+			config_source.blob = GITMODULES_HEAD;
+
+		config_with_options(fn, data, &config_source, &opts);
+
 		free(file);
 	}
 }
diff --git a/t/t7411-submodule-config.sh b/t/t7411-submodule-config.sh
index 45953f9300..2cfabb18bc 100755
--- a/t/t7411-submodule-config.sh
+++ b/t/t7411-submodule-config.sh
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ test_expect_success 'error in history in fetchrecursesubmodule lets continue' '
 	)
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'reading submodules config with "submodule--helper config"' '
+test_expect_success 'reading submodules config from the working tree with "submodule--helper config"' '
 	(cd super &&
 		echo "../submodule" >expect &&
 		git submodule--helper config submodule.submodule.url >actual &&
@@ -192,4 +192,28 @@ test_expect_success 'non-writeable .gitmodules when it is in the current branch
 	)
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'reading submodules config from the index when .gitmodules is not in the working tree' '
+	ORIG=$(git -C super rev-parse HEAD) &&
+	test_when_finished "git -C super reset --hard $ORIG" &&
+	(cd super &&
+		git submodule--helper config submodule.submodule.url "staged_url" &&
+		git add .gitmodules &&
+		rm -f .gitmodules &&
+		echo "staged_url" >expect &&
+		git submodule--helper config submodule.submodule.url >actual &&
+		test_cmp expect actual
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'reading submodules config from the current branch when .gitmodules is not in the index' '
+	ORIG=$(git -C super rev-parse HEAD) &&
+	test_when_finished "git -C super reset --hard $ORIG" &&
+	(cd super &&
+		git rm .gitmodules &&
+		echo "../submodule" >expect &&
+		git submodule--helper config submodule.submodule.url >actual &&
+		test_cmp expect actual
+	)
+'
+
 test_done
diff --git a/t/t7416-submodule-sparse-gitmodules.sh b/t/t7416-submodule-sparse-gitmodules.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..908a4e6958
--- /dev/null
+++ b/t/t7416-submodule-sparse-gitmodules.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+#
+# Copyright (C) 2018  Antonio Ospite <ao2@ao2.it>
+#
+
+test_description='Test reading/writing .gitmodules when not in the working tree
+
+This test verifies that, when .gitmodules is in the current branch but is not
+in the working tree reading from it still works but writing to it does not.
+
+The test setup uses a sparse checkout, however the same scenario can be set up
+also by committing .gitmodules and then just removing it from the filesystem.
+'
+
+. ./test-lib.sh
+
+test_expect_success 'sparse checkout setup which hides .gitmodules' '
+	echo file >file &&
+	git add file &&
+	test_tick &&
+	git commit -m upstream &&
+	git clone . super &&
+	git clone super submodule &&
+	git clone super new_submodule &&
+	(cd super &&
+		git submodule add ../submodule &&
+		test_tick &&
+		git commit -m submodule &&
+		cat >.git/info/sparse-checkout <<-\EOF &&
+		/*
+		!/.gitmodules
+		EOF
+		git config core.sparsecheckout true &&
+		git read-tree -m -u HEAD &&
+		test_path_is_missing .gitmodules
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'reading gitmodules config file when it is not checked out' '
+	(cd super &&
+		echo "../submodule" >expect &&
+		git submodule--helper config submodule.submodule.url >actual &&
+		test_cmp expect actual
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'not writing gitmodules config file when it is not checked out' '
+	 test_must_fail git -C super submodule--helper config submodule.submodule.url newurl
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'initialising submodule when the gitmodules config is not checked out' '
+	git -C super submodule init
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'showing submodule summary when the gitmodules config is not checked out' '
+	git -C super submodule summary
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'updating submodule when the gitmodules config is not checked out' '
+	(cd submodule &&
+		echo file2 >file2 &&
+		git add file2 &&
+		git commit -m "add file2 to submodule"
+	) &&
+	git -C super submodule update
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'not adding submodules when the gitmodules config is not checked out' '
+	test_must_fail git -C super submodule add ../new_submodule
+'
+
+# This test checks that the previous "git submodule add" did not leave the
+# repository in a spurious state when it failed.
+test_expect_success 'init submodule still works even after the previous add failed' '
+	git -C super submodule init
+'
+
+test_done

diff --git a/t/t7814-grep-recurse-submodules.sh b/t/t7814-grep-recurse-submodules.sh
index 7184113b9b..93ae2e8e7c 100755
--- a/t/t7814-grep-recurse-submodules.sh
+++ b/t/t7814-grep-recurse-submodules.sh
@@ -337,6 +337,10 @@ test_expect_success 'grep --recurse-submodules should pass the pattern type alon
 	test_must_fail git -c grep.patternType=fixed grep --recurse-submodules -e "(.|.)[\d]" &&
 
 	# Basic
+	for i in $(seq 0 2000)
+	do
+		git grep --recurse-submodules 1 >/dev/null || return 1
+	done &&
 	git grep -G --recurse-submodules -e "(.|.)[\d]" >actual &&
 	cat >expect <<-\EOF &&
 	a:(1|2)d(3|4)


On first look I didn't notice anything that is obviously wrong in this
patch and could be responsible for the memory corruption, but there is
one thing I found strange, though:


On Mon, Sep 17, 2018 at 04:09:40PM +0200, Antonio Ospite wrote:
> When the .gitmodules file is not available in the working tree, try
> using the content from the index and from the current branch.

"from the index and from the current branch" of which repository?

> This
> covers the case when the file is part of the repository but for some
> reason it is not checked out, for example because of a sparse checkout.
> 
> This makes it possible to use at least the 'git submodule' commands
> which *read* the gitmodules configuration file without fully populating
> the working tree.
> 
> Writing to .gitmodules will still require that the file is checked out,
> so check for that before calling config_set_in_gitmodules_file_gently.
> 
> Add a similar check also in git-submodule.sh::cmd_add() to anticipate
> the eventual failure of the "git submodule add" command when .gitmodules
> is not safely writeable; this prevents the command from leaving the
> repository in a spurious state (e.g. the submodule repository was cloned
> but .gitmodules was not updated because
> config_set_in_gitmodules_file_gently failed).
> 
> Finally, add t7416-submodule-sparse-gitmodules.sh to verify that reading
> from .gitmodules succeeds and that writing to it fails when the file is
> not checked out.
> 
> Signed-off-by: Antonio Ospite <ao2@ao2.it>
> ---

> diff --git a/submodule-config.c b/submodule-config.c
> index 61a555e920..bdb1d0e2c9 100644
> --- a/submodule-config.c
> +++ b/submodule-config.c

> @@ -603,8 +604,21 @@ static void submodule_cache_check_init(struct repository *repo)
>  static void config_from_gitmodules(config_fn_t fn, struct repository *repo, void *data)
>  {
>  	if (repo->worktree) {
> -		char *file = repo_worktree_path(repo, GITMODULES_FILE);
> -		git_config_from_file(fn, file, data);
> +		struct git_config_source config_source = { 0 };
> +		const struct config_options opts = { 0 };
> +		struct object_id oid;
> +		char *file;
> +
> +		file = repo_worktree_path(repo, GITMODULES_FILE);
> +		if (file_exists(file))
> +			config_source.file = file;
> +		else if (get_oid(GITMODULES_INDEX, &oid) >= 0)
> +			config_source.blob = GITMODULES_INDEX;

The repository used in t7814 contains nested submodules, which means
that config_from_gitmodules() is invoked three times.

Now, the first two of those calls look at the superproject and at
'submodule', and find the existing files '.../trash
directory.t7814-grep-recurse-submodules/.gitmodules' and '.../trash
directory.t7814-grep-recurse-submodules/submodule/.gitmodules',
respectively.  So far so good.

The third call, however, looks at the nested submodule at
'submodule/sub', which doesn't contain a '.gitmodules' file.  So this
function goes on with the second condition and calls
get_oid(GITMODULES_INDEX, &oid), which then appears to find the blob
in the _superproject's_ index.

I'm no expert on submodules, but my gut feeling says that this can't
be right.  But if it _is_ right, then I would say that the commit
message should explain in detail, why it is right.

Anyway, even if it is indeed wrong, I'm not sure whether this is the
root cause of the memory corruption.


> +		else if (get_oid(GITMODULES_HEAD, &oid) >= 0)
> +			config_source.blob = GITMODULES_HEAD;
> +
> +		config_with_options(fn, data, &config_source, &opts);
> +
>  		free(file);
>  	}
>  }

t/t7814-grep-recurse-submodules.sh, builtin/grep.c

diff --git a/t/t7814-grep-recurse-submodules.sh b/t/t7814-grep-recurse-submodules.sh
index 7184113b9b..56e87c3f8a 100755
--- a/t/t7814-grep-recurse-submodules.sh
+++ b/t/t7814-grep-recurse-submodules.sh
@@ -337,6 +337,10 @@ test_expect_success 'grep --recurse-submodules should pass the pattern type alon
        test_must_fail git -c grep.patternType=fixed grep --recurse-submodules -e "(.|.)[\d]" &&

        # Basic
+       for i in $(test_seq 0 2000)
+       do
+               debug --debugger="gdb --silent -ex run -ex quit --return-child-result --args" git grep --recurse-submodules 1 >/dev/null || return 1
+       done &&
        git grep -G --recurse-submodules -e "(.|.)[\d]" >actual &&
        cat >expect <<-\EOF &&
        a:(1|2)d(3|4)


Running t7814 with --run="1,6,22" is enough to observe the issue.

FWICS these corruptions are caused by concurrent accesses to the object
store.

The issue is caused by these facts:
  1. git grep uses threads;
  2. git grep reads submodules config with repo_read_gitmodules;
  3. repo_read_gitmodules calls config_from_gitmodules
  4. the changes in patch 9 in this series make config_from_gitmodules
     use the object store, which apparently is not mt-safe, while the
     previous use of git_config_from_file() was.

> On first look I didn't notice anything that is obviously wrong in this
> patch and could be responsible for the memory corruption, but there is
> one thing I found strange, though:
> 
> 
> On Mon, Sep 17, 2018 at 04:09:40PM +0200, Antonio Ospite wrote:
> > When the .gitmodules file is not available in the working tree, try
> > using the content from the index and from the current branch.
> 
> "from the index and from the current branch" of which repository?
> 
[...]

> > diff --git a/submodule-config.c b/submodule-config.c
> > index 61a555e920..bdb1d0e2c9 100644
> > --- a/submodule-config.c
> > +++ b/submodule-config.c
> 
> > @@ -603,8 +604,21 @@ static void submodule_cache_check_init(struct repository *repo)
> >  static void config_from_gitmodules(config_fn_t fn, struct repository *repo, void *data)
> >  {
> >  	if (repo->worktree) {
> > -		char *file = repo_worktree_path(repo, GITMODULES_FILE);
> > -		git_config_from_file(fn, file, data);
> > +		struct git_config_source config_source = { 0 };
> > +		const struct config_options opts = { 0 };
> > +		struct object_id oid;
> > +		char *file;
> > +
> > +		file = repo_worktree_path(repo, GITMODULES_FILE);
> > +		if (file_exists(file))
> > +			config_source.file = file;
> > +		else if (get_oid(GITMODULES_INDEX, &oid) >= 0)
> > +			config_source.blob = GITMODULES_INDEX;
> 
> The repository used in t7814 contains nested submodules, which means
> that config_from_gitmodules() is invoked three times.
> 
> Now, the first two of those calls look at the superproject and at
> 'submodule', and find the existing files '.../trash
> directory.t7814-grep-recurse-submodules/.gitmodules' and '.../trash
> directory.t7814-grep-recurse-submodules/submodule/.gitmodules',
> respectively.  So far so good.
> 
> The third call, however, looks at the nested submodule at
> 'submodule/sub', which doesn't contain a '.gitmodules' file.  So this
> function goes on with the second condition and calls
> get_oid(GITMODULES_INDEX, &oid), which then appears to find the blob
> in the _superproject's_ index.
> 
> I'm no expert on submodules, but my gut feeling says that this can't
> be right.  But if it _is_ right, then I would say that the commit
> message should explain in detail, why it is right.
>

I'll think about that too.

> Anyway, even if it is indeed wrong, I'm not sure whether this is the
> root cause of the memory corruption.
> 

I think the immediate cause of the corruptions is multi-threading in
grep, I can prevent the issue from happening by using "git grep
--threads 1 ...".

Protecting the problematic submodules function could work for now, but
I'd like to have more comments, my proposal is:

diff --git a/builtin/grep.c b/builtin/grep.c
index 601f801158..52b45de749 100644
--- a/builtin/grep.c
+++ b/builtin/grep.c
@@ -427,6 +427,11 @@ static int grep_submodule(struct grep_opt *opt, struct repository *superproject,
        if (repo_submodule_init(&submodule, superproject, path))
                return 0;

+       grep_read_lock();
+       /*
+        * NEEDSWORK: repo_read_gitmodules accesses the object store which is
+        * global, thus it needs to be protected.
+        */
        repo_read_gitmodules(&submodule);

        /*
@@ -439,7 +444,6 @@ static int grep_submodule(struct grep_opt *opt, struct repository *superproject,
         * store is no longer global and instead is a member of the repository
         * object.
         */
-       grep_read_lock();
        add_to_alternates_memory(submodule.objects->objectdir);
        grep_read_unlock();


The pre-existing NEEDSWORK comment there also suggests that these
problems with the object store are known. I was not aware of them.

With the change from above I could not reproduce the problem anymore,
this should be the only location where
repo_read_gitmodules/config_from_gitmodules is called in a thread.

Thanks you,
   Antonio

diff --git a/git-submodule.sh b/git-submodule.sh
index 1cb2c0a31b..25b9bc58cb 100755
--- a/git-submodule.sh
+++ b/git-submodule.sh
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ get_submodule_config () {
 	value=$(git config submodule."$name"."$option")
 	if test -z "$value"
 	then
-		value=$(git config -f .gitmodules submodule."$name"."$option")
+		value=$(git submodule--helper config submodule."$name"."$option")
 	fi
 	printf '%s' "${value:-$default}"
 }
@@ -283,11 +283,11 @@ or you are unsure what this means choose another name with the '--name' option."
 	git add --no-warn-embedded-repo $force "$sm_path" ||
 	die "$(eval_gettext "Failed to add submodule '\$sm_path'")"
 
-	git config -f .gitmodules submodule."$sm_name".path "$sm_path" &&
-	git config -f .gitmodules submodule."$sm_name".url "$repo" &&
+	git submodule--helper config submodule."$sm_name".path "$sm_path" &&
+	git submodule--helper config submodule."$sm_name".url "$repo" &&
 	if test -n "$branch"
 	then
-		git config -f .gitmodules submodule."$sm_name".branch "$branch"
+		git submodule--helper config submodule."$sm_name".branch "$branch"
 	fi &&
 	git add --force .gitmodules ||
 	die "$(eval_gettext "Failed to register submodule '\$sm_path'")"

diff --git a/t/t7411-submodule-config.sh b/t/t7411-submodule-config.sh
index 0bde5850ac..f2cd1f4a2c 100755
--- a/t/t7411-submodule-config.sh
+++ b/t/t7411-submodule-config.sh
@@ -82,29 +82,21 @@ Submodule name: 'a' for path 'b'
 Submodule name: 'submodule' for path 'submodule'
 EOF
 
-test_expect_success 'error in one submodule config lets continue' '
+test_expect_success 'error in history of one submodule config lets continue, stderr message contains blob ref' '
 	(cd super &&
 		cp .gitmodules .gitmodules.bak &&
 		echo "	value = \"" >>.gitmodules &&
 		git add .gitmodules &&
 		mv .gitmodules.bak .gitmodules &&
 		git commit -m "add error" &&
-		test-tool submodule-config \
-			HEAD b \
-			HEAD submodule \
-				>actual &&
-		test_cmp expect_error actual
-	)
-'
-
-test_expect_success 'error message contains blob reference' '
-	(cd super &&
 		sha1=$(git rev-parse HEAD) &&
 		test-tool submodule-config \
 			HEAD b \
 			HEAD submodule \
-				2>actual_err &&
-		test_i18ngrep "submodule-blob $sha1:.gitmodules" actual_err >/dev/null
+				>actual \
+				2>actual_stderr &&
+		test_cmp expect_error actual &&
+		test_i18ngrep "submodule-blob $sha1:.gitmodules" actual_stderr >/dev/null
 	)
 '
 

builtin/submodule--helper.c, t/t7411-submodule-config.sh

diff --git a/builtin/submodule--helper.c b/builtin/submodule--helper.c
index f6fb8991f3..80f939cd9e 100644
--- a/builtin/submodule--helper.c
+++ b/builtin/submodule--helper.c
@@ -2003,6 +2003,19 @@ static int check_name(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	return 0;
 }
 
+static int module_config(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
+{
+	/* Equivalent to ACTION_GET in builtin/config.c */
+	if (argc == 2)
+		return print_config_from_gitmodules(argv[1]);
+
+	/* Equivalent to ACTION_SET in builtin/config.c */
+	if (argc == 3)
+		return config_set_in_gitmodules_file_gently(argv[1], argv[2]);
+
+	die("submodule--helper config takes 1 or 2 arguments: name [value]");
+}
+
 #define SUPPORT_SUPER_PREFIX (1<<0)
 
 struct cmd_struct {
@@ -2030,6 +2043,7 @@ static struct cmd_struct commands[] = {
 	{"absorb-git-dirs", absorb_git_dirs, SUPPORT_SUPER_PREFIX},
 	{"is-active", is_active, 0},
 	{"check-name", check_name, 0},
+	{"config", module_config, 0},
 };
 
 int cmd_submodule__helper(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
diff --git a/t/t7411-submodule-config.sh b/t/t7411-submodule-config.sh
index b1f3c6489b..791245f18d 100755
--- a/t/t7411-submodule-config.sh
+++ b/t/t7411-submodule-config.sh
@@ -134,4 +134,31 @@ test_expect_success 'error in history in fetchrecursesubmodule lets continue' '
 	)
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'reading submodules config with "submodule--helper config"' '
+	(cd super &&
+		echo "../submodule" >expect &&
+		git submodule--helper config submodule.submodule.url >actual &&
+		test_cmp expect actual
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'writing submodules config with "submodule--helper config"' '
+	(cd super &&
+		echo "new_url" >expect &&
+		git submodule--helper config submodule.submodule.url "new_url" &&
+		git submodule--helper config submodule.submodule.url >actual &&
+		test_cmp expect actual
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'overwriting unstaged submodules config with "submodule--helper config"' '
+	test_when_finished "git -C super checkout .gitmodules" &&
+	(cd super &&
+		echo "newer_url" >expect &&
+		git submodule--helper config submodule.submodule.url "newer_url" &&
+		git submodule--helper config submodule.submodule.url >actual &&
+		test_cmp expect actual
+	)
+'
+
 test_done

diff --git a/t/t7506-status-submodule.sh b/t/t7506-status-submodule.sh
index 943708fb04..08629a6e70 100755
--- a/t/t7506-status-submodule.sh
+++ b/t/t7506-status-submodule.sh
@@ -325,7 +325,8 @@ test_expect_success 'setup superproject with untracked file in nested submodule'
 	(
 		cd super &&
 		git clean -dfx &&
-		rm .gitmodules &&
+		git rm .gitmodules &&
+		git commit -m "remove .gitmodules" &&
 		git submodule add -f ./sub1 &&
 		git submodule add -f ./sub2 &&
 		git submodule add -f ./sub1 sub3 &&

submodule-config.c, submodule-config.h, submodule.c

diff --git a/submodule-config.c b/submodule-config.c
index f70b7f1baf..61a555e920 100644
--- a/submodule-config.c
+++ b/submodule-config.c
@@ -707,6 +707,18 @@ int print_config_from_gitmodules(const char *key)
 	return 0;
 }
 
+int config_set_in_gitmodules_file_gently(const char *key, const char *value)
+{
+	int ret;
+
+	ret = git_config_set_in_file_gently(GITMODULES_FILE, key, value);
+	if (ret < 0)
+		/* Maybe the user already did that, don't error out here */
+		warning(_("Could not update .gitmodules entry %s"), key);
+
+	return ret;
+}
+
 struct fetch_config {
 	int *max_children;
 	int *recurse_submodules;
diff --git a/submodule-config.h b/submodule-config.h
index dd7f1b9a46..3921927aa1 100644
--- a/submodule-config.h
+++ b/submodule-config.h
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ const struct submodule *submodule_from_path(struct repository *r,
 					    const char *path);
 void submodule_free(struct repository *r);
 int print_config_from_gitmodules(const char *key);
+int config_set_in_gitmodules_file_gently(const char *key, const char *value);
 
 /*
  * Returns 0 if the name is syntactically acceptable as a submodule "name"
diff --git a/submodule.c b/submodule.c
index a2b266fbfa..2e97032f86 100644
--- a/submodule.c
+++ b/submodule.c
@@ -89,6 +89,7 @@ int update_path_in_gitmodules(const char *oldpath, const char *newpath)
 {
 	struct strbuf entry = STRBUF_INIT;
 	const struct submodule *submodule;
+	int ret;
 
 	if (!file_exists(GITMODULES_FILE)) /* Do nothing without .gitmodules */
 		return -1;
@@ -104,14 +105,9 @@ int update_path_in_gitmodules(const char *oldpath, const char *newpath)
 	strbuf_addstr(&entry, "submodule.");
 	strbuf_addstr(&entry, submodule->name);
 	strbuf_addstr(&entry, ".path");
-	if (git_config_set_in_file_gently(GITMODULES_FILE, entry.buf, newpath) < 0) {
-		/* Maybe the user already did that, don't error out here */
-		warning(_("Could not update .gitmodules entry %s"), entry.buf);
-		strbuf_release(&entry);
-		return -1;
-	}
+	ret = config_set_in_gitmodules_file_gently(entry.buf, newpath);
 	strbuf_release(&entry);
-	return 0;
+	return ret;
 }
 
 /*

diff --git a/t/t7411-submodule-config.sh b/t/t7411-submodule-config.sh
index f2cd1f4a2c..b1f3c6489b 100755
--- a/t/t7411-submodule-config.sh
+++ b/t/t7411-submodule-config.sh
@@ -83,6 +83,8 @@ Submodule name: 'submodule' for path 'submodule'
 EOF
 
 test_expect_success 'error in history of one submodule config lets continue, stderr message contains blob ref' '
+	ORIG=$(git -C super rev-parse HEAD) &&
+	test_when_finished "git -C super reset --hard $ORIG" &&
 	(cd super &&
 		cp .gitmodules .gitmodules.bak &&
 		echo "	value = \"" >>.gitmodules &&
@@ -115,6 +117,8 @@ test_expect_success 'using different treeishs works' '
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'error in history in fetchrecursesubmodule lets continue' '
+	ORIG=$(git -C super rev-parse HEAD) &&
+	test_when_finished "git -C super reset --hard $ORIG" &&
 	(cd super &&
 		git config -f .gitmodules \
 			submodule.submodule.fetchrecursesubmodules blabla &&
@@ -126,8 +130,7 @@ test_expect_success 'error in history in fetchrecursesubmodule lets continue' '
 			HEAD b \
 			HEAD submodule \
 				>actual &&
-		test_cmp expect_error actual  &&
-		git reset --hard HEAD^
+		test_cmp expect_error actual
 	)
 '
 

builtin/submodule--helper.c, cache.h, submodule.c, submodule.h, t/t7411-submodule-config.sh

diff --git a/builtin/submodule--helper.c b/builtin/submodule--helper.c
index 80f939cd9e..bd14f57d00 100644
--- a/builtin/submodule--helper.c
+++ b/builtin/submodule--helper.c
@@ -2005,6 +2005,28 @@ static int check_name(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 
 static int module_config(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 {
+	enum {
+		CHECK_WRITEABLE = 1
+	} command = 0;
+
+	struct option module_config_options[] = {
+		OPT_CMDMODE(0, "check-writeable", &command,
+			    N_("check if it is safe to write to the .gitmodules file"),
+			    CHECK_WRITEABLE),
+		OPT_END()
+	};
+	const char *const git_submodule_helper_usage[] = {
+		N_("git submodule--helper config name [value]"),
+		N_("git submodule--helper config --check-writeable"),
+		NULL
+	};
+
+	argc = parse_options(argc, argv, prefix, module_config_options,
+			     git_submodule_helper_usage, PARSE_OPT_KEEP_ARGV0);
+
+	if (argc == 1 && command == CHECK_WRITEABLE)
+		return is_writing_gitmodules_ok() ? 0 : -1;
+
 	/* Equivalent to ACTION_GET in builtin/config.c */
 	if (argc == 2)
 		return print_config_from_gitmodules(argv[1]);
@@ -2013,7 +2035,7 @@ static int module_config(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	if (argc == 3)
 		return config_set_in_gitmodules_file_gently(argv[1], argv[2]);
 
-	die("submodule--helper config takes 1 or 2 arguments: name [value]");
+	usage_with_options(git_submodule_helper_usage, module_config_options);
 }
 
 #define SUPPORT_SUPER_PREFIX (1<<0)
diff --git a/cache.h b/cache.h
index 4d014541ab..33723d2a32 100644
--- a/cache.h
+++ b/cache.h
@@ -486,6 +486,8 @@ static inline enum object_type object_type(unsigned int mode)
 #define INFOATTRIBUTES_FILE "info/attributes"
 #define ATTRIBUTE_MACRO_PREFIX "[attr]"
 #define GITMODULES_FILE ".gitmodules"
+#define GITMODULES_INDEX ":.gitmodules"
+#define GITMODULES_HEAD "HEAD:.gitmodules"
 #define GIT_NOTES_REF_ENVIRONMENT "GIT_NOTES_REF"
 #define GIT_NOTES_DEFAULT_REF "refs/notes/commits"
 #define GIT_NOTES_DISPLAY_REF_ENVIRONMENT "GIT_NOTES_DISPLAY_REF"
diff --git a/submodule.c b/submodule.c
index 2e97032f86..2b7082b2db 100644
--- a/submodule.c
+++ b/submodule.c
@@ -50,6 +50,24 @@ int is_gitmodules_unmerged(const struct index_state *istate)
 	return 0;
 }
 
+/*
+ * Check if the .gitmodules file is safe to write.
+ *
+ * Writing to the .gitmodules file requires that the file exists in the
+ * working tree or, if it doesn't, that a brand new .gitmodules file is going
+ * to be created (i.e. it's neither in the index nor in the current branch).
+ *
+ * It is not safe to write to .gitmodules if it's not in the working tree but
+ * it is in the index or in the current branch, because writing new values
+ * (and staging them) would blindly overwrite ALL the old content.
+ */
+int is_writing_gitmodules_ok(void)
+{
+	struct object_id oid;
+	return file_exists(GITMODULES_FILE) ||
+		(get_oid(GITMODULES_INDEX, &oid) < 0 && get_oid(GITMODULES_HEAD, &oid) < 0);
+}
+
 /*
  * Check if the .gitmodules file has unstaged modifications.  This must be
  * checked before allowing modifications to the .gitmodules file with the
diff --git a/submodule.h b/submodule.h
index e452919aa4..7a22f71cb9 100644
--- a/submodule.h
+++ b/submodule.h
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ struct submodule_update_strategy {
 #define SUBMODULE_UPDATE_STRATEGY_INIT {SM_UPDATE_UNSPECIFIED, NULL}
 
 int is_gitmodules_unmerged(const struct index_state *istate);
+int is_writing_gitmodules_ok(void);
 int is_staging_gitmodules_ok(struct index_state *istate);
 int update_path_in_gitmodules(const char *oldpath, const char *newpath);
 int remove_path_from_gitmodules(const char *path);
diff --git a/t/t7411-submodule-config.sh b/t/t7411-submodule-config.sh
index 791245f18d..45953f9300 100755
--- a/t/t7411-submodule-config.sh
+++ b/t/t7411-submodule-config.sh
@@ -161,4 +161,35 @@ test_expect_success 'overwriting unstaged submodules config with "submodule--hel
 	)
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'writeable .gitmodules when it is in the working tree' '
+	git -C super submodule--helper config --check-writeable
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'writeable .gitmodules when it is nowhere in the repository' '
+	ORIG=$(git -C super rev-parse HEAD) &&
+	test_when_finished "git -C super reset --hard $ORIG" &&
+	(cd super &&
+		git rm .gitmodules &&
+		git commit -m "remove .gitmodules from the current branch" &&
+		git submodule--helper config --check-writeable
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'non-writeable .gitmodules when it is in the index but not in the working tree' '
+	test_when_finished "git -C super checkout .gitmodules" &&
+	(cd super &&
+		rm -f .gitmodules &&
+		test_must_fail git submodule--helper config --check-writeable
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'non-writeable .gitmodules when it is in the current branch but not in the index' '
+	ORIG=$(git -C super rev-parse HEAD) &&
+	test_when_finished "git -C super reset --hard $ORIG" &&
+	(cd super &&
+		git rm .gitmodules &&
+		test_must_fail git submodule--helper config --check-writeable
+	)
+'
+
 test_done

submodule-config.c, submodule-config.h

diff --git a/submodule-config.c b/submodule-config.c
index fc2c41b947..f70b7f1baf 100644
--- a/submodule-config.c
+++ b/submodule-config.c
@@ -682,6 +682,31 @@ void submodule_free(struct repository *r)
 		submodule_cache_clear(r->submodule_cache);
 }
 
+static int config_print_callback(const char *var, const char *value, void *cb_data)
+{
+	char *wanted_key = cb_data;
+
+	if (!strcmp(wanted_key, var))
+		printf("%s\n", value);
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+int print_config_from_gitmodules(const char *key)
+{
+	int ret;
+	char *store_key;
+
+	ret = git_config_parse_key(key, &store_key, NULL);
+	if (ret < 0)
+		return CONFIG_INVALID_KEY;
+
+	config_from_gitmodules(config_print_callback, the_repository, store_key);
+
+	free(store_key);
+	return 0;
+}
+
 struct fetch_config {
 	int *max_children;
 	int *recurse_submodules;
diff --git a/submodule-config.h b/submodule-config.h
index dc7278eea4..dd7f1b9a46 100644
--- a/submodule-config.h
+++ b/submodule-config.h
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ const struct submodule *submodule_from_path(struct repository *r,
 					    const struct object_id *commit_or_tree,
 					    const char *path);
 void submodule_free(struct repository *r);
+int print_config_from_gitmodules(const char *key);
 
 /*
  * Returns 0 if the name is syntactically acceptable as a submodule "name"