Git will not init/sync/update new submodules

Here's part of the contents of my .gitmodules file:

[submodule "src/static_management"]
        path = src/static_management
        url = git://github.com/eykd/django-static-management.git
[submodule "external/pyfacebook"]
        path = external/pyfacebook
        url = http://github.com/sciyoshi/pyfacebook.git

However, .git/config only contains the first:

[submodule "src/static_management"]
        url = git://github.com/eykd/django-static-management.git

The second submodule (external/pyfacebook) was added by another developer in a feature branch. I've inherited the development now, and have checked out the feature branch. However, Git will not pull the submodule for me. I've tried:

• git submodule init
• git submodule update
• git submodule update --init
• git submodule sync
• Removing all submodule definitions from .git/config and running git submodule init. It only copies over the previously existing submodule and ignores the new one.
• Entering new submodule definitions in .git/config manually and running git submodule update. Only the previously existing submodules bother to update.

in various combinations, but git simply will not update .git/config based on the new contents of .gitmodules, nor will it create the external/pyfacebook folder and pull the submodule's contents.

What am I missing? Is manual intervention (adding a submodule entry by hand to .git/config) truly required, and why?

Edit: Manual intervention does not work. Manually adding the new submodule entry to .git/config doesn't do a thing. The new submodule is ignored.

I had this same problem - it turned out that the .gitmodules file was committed, but the actual submodule commit (i.e. the record of the submodule's commit ID) wasn't.

Adding it manually seemed to do the trick - e.g.:

git submodule add http://github.com/sciyoshi/pyfacebook.git external/pyfacebook

(Even without removing anything from .git/config or .gitmodules.)

Then commit it to record the ID properly.

Adding some further comments to this working answer: If the git submodule init or git submodule update does'nt work, then as described above git submodule add url should do the trick. One can cross check this by

 git config --list

and one should get an entry of the submodule you want to pull in the result of the git config --list command. If there is an entry of your submodule in the config result, then now the usual git submodule update --init should pull your submodule. To test this step, you can manually rename the submodule and then updating the submodule.

 mv yourmodulename yourmodulename-temp
 git submodule update --init

To find out if you have local changes in the submodule, it can be seen via git status -u ( if you want to see changes in the submodule ) or git status --ignore-submodules ( if you dont want to see the changes in the submodule ).

git version 2.7.4. This command updates local code git submodule update --init --force --remote

Had the same issue, when git ignored init and update commands, and does nothing.

HOW TO FIX

1. Your submodule folder should be committed into git repo
2. It shouldn't be in .gitignore

If that requirements met, it will work. Otherwise, all commands will execute without any messages and result.

If you did all that, and it still doesn't work:

1. Add submodule manually, e.g. git submodule add git@... path/to
2. git submodule init
3. git submodule update
4. commit and push all files - .gitmodules and your module folder (note, that content of folder will not commit)
5. drop your local git repo
6. clone a new one
7. ensure that .git/config doesn't have any submodules yet
8. Now, git submodule init - and you will see a message that module registered
9. git submodule update - will fetch module
10. Now look at .git/config and you will find registered submodule