Coding⏱️ 2 min read📅 2026-05-31
How to Fix: Git submodule head 'reference is not a tree' error
Git submodule update error solution
Quick Answer: Try `git submodule update --force` to force update the submodule, or use `git submodule update --remote` to fetch the latest version from the remote repository.
📋 Table of Contents
To resolve the 'Git submodule head "reference is not a tree"' error, you can try the following steps:
🛠️ Step-by-Step Verified Fixes
Method 1: Update Submodule Reference
- Step 1: Run the following command to update the submodule reference:
- Step 1: Run the following command to fetch the submodule and update its reference:
$ git submodule update --remote --path=mysubmodule --resetMethod 2: Use Git's Fetch Submodule Command
$ git submodule fetch --update --path=mysubmodule💡 Conclusion
By following these steps, you should be able to resolve the 'Git submodule head "reference is not a tree"' error and update your submodule reference correctly.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Step 1: Run the following command to update the submodule reference:$ git submodule update --remote --path=mysubmodule --reset
Step 1: Run the following command to fetch the submodule and update its reference:$ git submodule fetch --update --path=mysubmodule
By following these steps, you should be able to resolve the 'Git submodule head "reference is not a tree"' error and update your submodule reference correctly.
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