warning: adding embedded git repository — how to fix

warning: adding embedded git repository: vendor/lib
hint: You've added another git repository inside your current repository.
hint: Clones of the outer repository will not contain the contents of
hint: the embedded repository and will not know how to obtain it.
hint: If you meant to add a submodule, use:
hint:
hint: 	git submodule add <url> vendor/lib
hint:
hint: If you added this path by mistake, you can remove it from the
hint: index with:
hint:
hint: 	git rm --cached vendor/lib

Quick fix: Unstage it: git rm --cached vendor/lib. Then either delete its .git folder (rm -rf vendor/lib/.git) and git add vendor/lib to include the files, or add it properly as a submodule: git submodule add <url> vendor/lib.

What it means

When git add finds a directory containing a .git folder, it doesn't add that directory's files. It adds a single special entry (mode 160000, a gitlink) that records which commit the inner repository is at. Without a .gitmodules entry nobody else can fetch it, so on GitHub the folder shows as an unclickable folder with an arrow icon, and clones contain an empty directory.

Confirm it:

git ls-files -s vendor/lib
# 160000 3f2a...  0   vendor/lib     <- 160000 = gitlink

Step 1: unstage the embedded repo

git rm --cached vendor/lib     # no trailing slash

This only removes it from the index; your files stay on disk. If you already committed, commit this removal too.

Then decide which of the following you want.

Fix A: you want the files in your repo (most common)

Typical cause: you ran npx create-react-app, cargo new, django-admin startproject or git clone inside an existing repo, and the tool created its own .git.

rm -rf vendor/lib/.git         # Windows: rmdir /s /q vendor\lib\.git
git add vendor/lib
git commit -m "Add vendor/lib as regular files"

This throws away the inner repo's history. If you need that history, merge it with git subtree add --prefix=vendor/lib <url> main instead.

Fix B: you want a submodule

If the folder is a separate project you want to track at a specific commit:

git rm --cached vendor/lib
rm -rf vendor/lib              # submodule add needs an empty/nonexistent path
git submodule add https://github.com/user/lib.git vendor/lib
git commit -m "Add lib as submodule"

Others then clone with:

git clone --recurse-submodules <repo-url>
# or after a normal clone:
git submodule update --init --recursive

Fix C: you didn't want it at all

Add it to .gitignore after unstaging:

git rm --cached vendor/lib
echo "vendor/lib/" >> .gitignore
git commit -m "Ignore vendor/lib"

Already pushed and the folder is empty on GitHub?

Same fix — remove the gitlink, add the real files, push:

git rm --cached vendor/lib
rm -rf vendor/lib/.git
git add vendor/lib
git commit -m "Replace gitlink with files"
git push

Finding nested repositories

find . -mindepth 2 -name .git -not -path "./.git/*"

Every result (outside the root .git) is an embedded repository. Silence the warning only if you really want gitlinks: git config advice.addEmbeddedRepo false.

Last updated 2026-11-03.