--- title: Today I will… manage Git Submodules without leaving the IDE description: Visual Studio 18.9 introduces first-class Git submodule support directly in the IDE. A dedicated Submodules section in the Git Repository window lets... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/today-i-will-manage-git-submodules-without-leaving-the-ide-xinttbbse twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Today I will… manage Git Submodules without leaving the IDE | daily.dev og:description: Visual Studio 18.9 introduces first-class Git submodule support directly in the IDE. A dedicated Submodules section in the Git Repository window lets... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/today-i-will-manage-git-submodules-without-leaving-the-ide-xinttbbse og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/XInttBbSe.png og:image:alt: Today I will… manage Git Submodules without leaving the IDE og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Today I will… manage Git Submodules without leaving the IDE **[Visual Studio Blog](https://daily.dev/sources/vs)** · 3 min read · 4 upvotes · 1 comments ## Summary Visual Studio 18.9 introduces first-class Git submodule support directly in the IDE. A dedicated Submodules section in the Git Repository window lets developers add, update, and remove submodules without touching the terminal. Submodules are treated as read-only by default to prevent accidental commits, and Visual Studio automatically discovers and activates them when opening a solution. Enabling full edit access requires one setting change under Tools > Options > Source Control > Git. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How do I manage Git submodules directly in Visual Studio without using the command line? Visual Studio 18.9 adds a dedicated Submodules section in the Git Repository window where you can add, update, or remove submodules directly. Submodules also appear in the Git Changes window, and Visual Studio automatically discovers and activates submodules when you open a solution or folder, keeping them out of the main repository list. _daily.dev surfaces IDE workflow updates like this for developers tracking Git tooling changes._ ### Are Git submodules editable by default in Visual Studio 18.9? No, submodules are read-only by default in Visual Studio 18.9, which prevents accidentally committing changes into a dependency you only meant to reference. To make a submodule editable, go to Tools > Options > Source Control > Git, find Automatically activate multiple repositories, and select Yes, include submodules. _Developers configuring submodule permissions can follow tooling changes like this on daily.dev._ ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@jqhxnn** · 0 upvotes > I think this might be good for people that are new to git or github in general. I mean git is simple but in terminal confusing/scary for some people so it might improve the start for beginners on Git(Hub). ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Azure DevOps Server – Git submodule support](https://daily.dev/posts/azure-devops-server-git-submodule-support-szve2f2az) · The Art of Simplicity · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Streamlining your Git workflow with Visual Studio 2026](https://daily.dev/posts/streamlining-your-git-workflow-with-visual-studio-2026-hlb61tr8a) · Visual Studio Blog · 2 upvotes · 0 comments - [Hide Code in a Repo Using Git Submodules](https://daily.dev/posts/hide-code-in-a-repo-using-git-submodules-4d9fl7f0f) · Atomic Spin · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Git integration is ten years away](https://daily.dev/posts/git-integration-is-ten-years-away-f2jsrmxde) · ploeh blog · 116 upvotes · 18 comments --- Tags: [#git](https://daily.dev/tags/git), [#visual-studio](https://daily.dev/tags/visual-studio), [#version-control](https://daily.dev/tags/version-control) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/today-i-will-manage-git-submodules-without-leaving-the-ide-xinttbbse) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Today I will… manage Git Submodules without leaving the IDE","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/today-i-will-manage-git-submodules-without-leaving-the-ide-xinttbbse","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/today-i-will-manage-git-submodules-without-leaving-the-ide-xinttbbse"},"datePublished":"2026-08-11T17:09:28.240Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T06:54:57.395Z","description":"Visual Studio 18.9 introduces first-class Git submodule support directly in the IDE. 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I mean git is simple but in terminal confusing/scary for some people so it might improve the start for beginners on Git(Hub).","datePublished":"2026-08-11T19:48:38.083Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/XInttBbSe#c-polcMFRUV","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Johann","url":"https://daily.dev/jqhxnn","image":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/244580955?v=4"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/today-i-will-manage-git-submodules-without-leaving-the-ide-xinttbbse#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How do I manage Git submodules directly in Visual Studio without using the command line?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Visual Studio 18.9 adds a dedicated Submodules section in the Git Repository window where you can add, update, or remove submodules directly. 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