---
title: "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
source_url: https://devblogs.microsoft.com/visualstudio/managing-git-submodules-without-leaving-the-ide
type: article
source: "Visual Studio Blog"
published: 2026-08-11T17:09:28.240Z
updated: 2026-08-17T05:50:50.274Z
tags: ["git", "visual-studio", "version-control"]
reading_time: 3
upvotes: 4
comments: 1
language: en
---

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# 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: <https://devblogs.microsoft.com/visualstudio/managing-git-submodules-without-leaving-the-ide>

## Questions this post answers

### How do I manage Git submodules inside Visual Studio without using the terminal?

Visual Studio 18.9 adds a dedicated Submodules section in the Git Repository window where you can add, update, or remove submodules without any command-line flags. Submodules also appear in Git Changes, and Visual Studio automatically discovers and activates them when you open a solution or folder. They are kept separate from the main local repositories list to avoid cluttering the repo picker.

_Developers switching Git submodule workflows to the IDE track updates like this on daily.dev._

### How do I enable editing inside a Git submodule in Visual Studio?

By default, Visual Studio treats submodules as read-only to prevent accidental commits into dependencies. To enable editing inside a submodule, go to Tools > Options > Source Control > Git, find the 'Automatically activate multiple repositories' setting, and select 'Yes, include submodules'.

_Teams deciding how to configure submodule workflows in Visual Studio find relevant release notes 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).

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- [Azure DevOps Server – Git submodule support](https://daily.dev/posts/azure-devops-server-git-submodule-support-szve2f2az) · The Art of Simplicity · 0 upvotes · 0 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)