If I add a submodule that does not currently exist, no submodule information is

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Asked: May 28, 20262026-05-28T17:54:42+00:00 2026-05-28T17:54:42+00:00

If I add a submodule that does not currently exist, no submodule information is

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If I add a submodule that does not currently exist, no submodule information is added to .git/config.

$ mkdir testing
$ cd testing
$ git init
$ git submodule add git@git.server:submodule.git
$ cat .git/config 
[core]
    repositoryformatversion = 0
    filemode = true
    bare = false
    logallrefupdates = true
    ignorecase = true

However, if I add a repo that currently exists as a submodule, the url is added to .git/config:

$ mkdir testing
$ cd testing
$ git init
$ git clone git@git.server:submodule.git
$ git submodule add git@git.server:submodule.git
$ cat .git/config 
[core]
    repositoryformatversion = 0
    filemode = true
    bare = false
    logallrefupdates = true
    ignorecase = true
[submodule "submodule"]
    url = git@git.server:submodule.git

I would have assumed that in both cases, git submodule add would have only modified .gitmodules, and that git submodule init would have updated the project’s .git/config.

Why is .git/config modified in the second case but not the first? Can somebody explain the rational for this behavior?