Submodules

Resolving Git Submodule Tracking Issues

July 19, 2025

Development, Tools

Git, Submodules, Troubleshooting, Version Control

Resolving Git Submodule Tracking Issues #

The Problem #

I recently encountered a frustrating Git issue with my Hugo blog setup. I had installed the Hugo Book theme as a Git submodule for my static site, but for some reason there were a bunch of changed files showing up in the theme’s directory even though I had never run git submodule update or made any intentional changes to it. At the time, I didn’t really understand how submodules work, so I tried adding it to .gitignore thinking that would solve the problem.