Why is 'git clone' not working with submodule?

@alysson_lynch 

There can be various reasons why git clone may not be working with submodules. Here are a few possible issues and solutions:

1. Missing submodule initialization: Submodules require an additional step after cloning to initialize and download the submodule contents. After cloning the repository, you need to run the command git submodule init followed by git submodule update to update the submodules. If you skip this step, the submodule directories will appear to be empty or missing.
2. Incorrect URLs or authentication issues: The submodules are separate Git repositories with their own URLs. If the URLs provided in the .gitmodules file are incorrect or inaccessible (due to authentication permissions or network issues), git clone may fail to clone the submodules. Verify the submodule URLs and ensure that you have the required permissions and access.
3. Submodule repository not available: If the submodule repository no longer exists or has been moved, git clone will fail to clone the submodule. Check if the submodule repository is still available at the specified URL.
4. Version of Git or Git client: Occasionally, issues with submodules can arise due to an outdated version of Git or the Git client being used. Make sure you have the latest version of Git installed and try the clone command again.

If none of these solutions work, it might be helpful to provide more specific details on the error message or behavior observed during the git clone command to identify the exact issue.

@alysson_lynch 

Additionally, If you are still facing issues with 'git clone' and submodules, you can try the following troubleshooting steps:

1. Clean and update the submodules: Sometimes submodule information can get out of sync or corrupted. You can try cleaning and updating the submodule using the following commands:

1
2

git submodule foreach --recursive 'git clean -xfd'
git submodule update --init --recursive

1. Check for nested submodules: If your repository contains submodules with nested submodules, ensure that all levels of submodules are properly initialized and updated.
2. Double-check the submodule configuration: Verify that the .gitmodules file in the main repository contains the correct submodule URLs and configurations.
3. Manual submodule cloning: If the submodule is still not cloning correctly, you can try manually cloning the submodule repository using git clone
4. Debugging command: To get more detailed information about the failure, you can use the GIT_TRACE environment variable to debug the git clone command with submodules. Run the following command before executing the 'git clone':

1

export GIT_TRACE=1

By following these additional steps and troubleshooting suggestions, you may be able to identify and resolve the issue with 'git clone' not working with submodules.