kind:change

title:Improved Support for Submodules in the Repository Contents API

created_at:2013-04-30

author_name:jasonrudolph

When you view a repository with a submodule on github.com, you get useful links and information for the submodule.

[][screenshot]

Today we're making that data available in the[Repository Contents API][docs].

<preclass="terminal">

curl https://api.github.com/repos/jquery/jquery/contents/test/qunit

{

"name": "qunit",

"path": "test/qunit",

"type": "submodule",

"submodule_git_url": "git://github.com/jquery/qunit.git",

"sha": "6ca3721222109997540bd6d9ccd396902e0ad2f9",

"size": 0,

"url": "https://api.github.com/repos/jquery/jquery/contents/test/qunit?ref=master",

"git_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/jquery/qunit/git/trees/6ca3721222109997540bd6d9ccd396902e0ad2f9",

"html_url": "https://github.com/jquery/qunit/tree/6ca3721222109997540bd6d9ccd396902e0ad2f9",

"_links": {

"self": "https://api.github.com/repos/jquery/jquery/contents/test/qunit?ref=master",

"git": "https://api.github.com/repos/jquery/qunit/git/trees/6ca3721222109997540bd6d9ccd396902e0ad2f9",

"html": "https://github.com/jquery/qunit/tree/6ca3721222109997540bd6d9ccd396902e0ad2f9"

}

}

</pre>

If you have any questions or feedback, please drop us a line at

[support@github.com](mailto:support@github.com?subject=Submodules in Repository Contents API).

[docs]:/v3/repos/contents/#get-contents

[screenshot]:/images/posts/submodule-links.png

*`[ ]` Use JSON to POST to the "repos/:owner/:repo/forks" endpoint, instead of a query string.

*`[✓]` <del>User Emails come back[as a hash][v3-email] instead of a string.</del>

*`[ ]` Remove the unused "bio" field for Users.

*`[ ]` When listing the contents of a directory in the[Repository Contents API](/v3/repos/contents/#get-contents), fix the`type` value returned for submodules: change the value to`"submodule"` (instead of`"file"`).

Files and symlinks support[a custom media type](#custom-media-types) for getting the raw content.

Directories do_not_ support custom media types.

Directoriesand submodulesdo_not_ support custom media types.

*Notes*:

<%= headers 200 %>

<%= json:symlink_content %>

<%= headers 200 %>

<%= json:submodule_content %>

The`submodule_git_url` identifies the location of the submodule repository, and the`sha` identifies a specific commit within the submodule repository.

Git uses the given URL when cloning the submodule repository, and checks out the submodule at that specific commit.

If the submodule repository is not hosted on github.com, the Git URLs (`git_url` and`_links["git"]`) and the github.com URLs (`html_url` and`_links["html"]`) will have null values.

This method will return a`302` to a URL to download a tarball