Splitting out a sub directory in a git repo into it's own repo

Question

I have the following structure:

 my_main_project/
    my_lib/
       file1
       dir2/
           file2
    my_other_files

And now, the my_lib has got to the point where it really should be it's own library, and should be a submodule in my_main_project

IE:

my_main_project/  (is repo)
    <my_lib>  (is sub module)
    my_other_files/

my_lib/ (is repo)
    file1
    dir2/
    file2

I ideally wish to keep the git history for my_lib for obvious reasons.

Anyway, I tried the following: Convert a git folder to a submodule retrospectively?

However, it fielded this error

$ git filter-branch --subdirectory-filter '../my_main_project/my_lib' --prune-empty -- --all
> fatal '../my_main_project/my_lib' is outside repository

What, am I doing wrong and what needs to be done to get this working. I should point out that my_main_project is on branch master, and that is the branch of the subdir I wish to port.

Please let me know if there is an supplementary information you need.

Why the path to the subdirectory is `../my_main_project/my_lib`, are you running the command from outside the main project? — Maic López Sáenz, Jan 19 '14 at 21:52

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 18 '14 at 15:42

The path/to/your/submodule from the post you linked to is the path to the submodule directory in your cloned repository (the new one in which you should be when executing this command) not in the original one. Judging by what you wrote it should be just my_lib

$ git filter-branch --subdirectory-filter 'my_lib' --prune-empty -- --all

Splitting out a sub directory in a git repo into it's own repo

1 Answers1