I am not able to switch from my local branch to master branch after linking a sub module.

[Rijil.Kulamullaparambath@harman.com]

I wanted to replace folder in my repository with a remote sub module. For this purpose I initially deleted the folder content then committed those changes to a newly created local branch.

Then I linked with a sub module which is pointing a specific commit. After that I committed the sub module linking changes to my branch. Now I am trying to switch from current branch to another branch but it is giving me error. The error messages shows 

error: The following untracked working tree files would be overwritten by checkout:

  "listed the deleted files in initial step"

Please move or remove them before you switch branches.Aborting

[mathagician · Accepted solution]

You need to check the status of your working directory like this `git status`. Based on that, ensure if all your work is committed or not. If done, then decide if the untracked files are what you need in future. If yes, then keep a safe copy or else you can use `git clean` or `git clean -f`  (forced clean) for this. Using `git checkout -f  <branch>` is another option. This problem happens as git is keeping a track of those deleted files. Since you have a version control, so restoration is also possible in case things go unintened.

Assumptions: The linking action successfully replaced the folder.

[Rijil.Kulamullaparambath@harman.com]

Thanks for your support.

Git status shows nothing to commit. Then I tried the git clean option but still the error is there.

And the checkout option shows like below is this expected behavior.

$ git checkout -f feature/submodule_svdioh
warning: unable to rmdir 'folder which is to be replaced with sub module': Directory not empty
Switched to branch 'feature/submodule_svdioh'

[Almasy Seifer]

git clean -d -f