When using Git submodules, Fork currently shows the branch synchronization status (ahead/behind) when opening the submodule repository itself, but this information is not visible from the parent repository.
For normal branches, Fork already provides a very useful indicator showing when the local branch is ahead or behind its upstream branch. It would be great if submodules could expose similar information directly in the parent repository view.
Example scenario:
-
Main repository:
MyProject
└── common-library (submodule)
-
The submodule is currently checked out at:
abc123
-
The configured upstream branch has:
abc123 -> def456
When opening the submodule repository, Fork correctly shows that the branch is behind by 1 commit. However, when working from the parent repository, there is no indication that the submodule has newer commits available.
A visual indicator in the parent repository could be something like:
or:
common-library (behind origin/main by 1 commit)
This would help developers who use shared/common submodules notice available updates without manually opening every submodule repository.
I understand that Git submodules intentionally point to a specific commit and should not be updated automatically. The request is only about visibility: showing that the tracked branch has newer commits available, similar to how Fork already displays branch synchronization status.
Additional notes:
Implementation-wise, this could possibly be updated during the normal fetch operation, or be an optional setting if checking submodule remotes has a performance impact.
When using Git submodules, Fork currently shows the branch synchronization status (ahead/behind) when opening the submodule repository itself, but this information is not visible from the parent repository.
For normal branches, Fork already provides a very useful indicator showing when the local branch is ahead or behind its upstream branch. It would be great if submodules could expose similar information directly in the parent repository view.
Example scenario:
Main repository:
MyProject
└── common-library (submodule)
The submodule is currently checked out at:
abc123
The configured upstream branch has:
abc123 -> def456
When opening the submodule repository, Fork correctly shows that the branch is behind by 1 commit. However, when working from the parent repository, there is no indication that the submodule has newer commits available.
A visual indicator in the parent repository could be something like:
or:
This would help developers who use shared/common submodules notice available updates without manually opening every submodule repository.
I understand that Git submodules intentionally point to a specific commit and should not be updated automatically. The request is only about visibility: showing that the tracked branch has newer commits available, similar to how Fork already displays branch synchronization status.
Additional notes:
Implementation-wise, this could possibly be updated during the normal fetch operation, or be an optional setting if checking submodule remotes has a performance impact.