git subtree: possible to change subtree branch/path in a forked repository?

git merge repository git-subtree
LearnCocos2D picture LearnCocos2D · Aug 30, 2013 · Viewed 16k times · Source

In a repository A the folder sub is included as git subtree of the repository S - pointing to master branch.

I have forked repository A into F. Now I want to do one of the following in F:

  • change sub to use a different branch of S (ie develop branch)
  • or: change sub to use a different repository altogether

Is either one of these possible, and if so, how? Will there be any side effects I should know of?

And how can I make sure my subtree change won't be updated in repository A when I merge my changes (pull request)? I mean besides isolating commits.

Answer

elmart picture elmart · Aug 30, 2013

If you used git subtree (and not git submodule) to create the subtree, then it's just a normal dir. To switch it to another branch, just delete it and recreate the subtree from the new branch. This is:

git rm <subtree>
git commit
git subtree add --prefix=<subtree> <repository_url> <branch>

That should work without problems.

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