git subtree add: change prefix preserving local commits

Question

is there an easy way to move a subtree added using the following cmd

git subtree add --prefix=<prefix> <repository> <commit>

in other terms, is it possible to change prefix from dir1 to dir2.

the answer to git subtree: possible to change subtree branch/path in a forked repository? suggests to remove the subtree then add it back.

It doesn't work for me because I need to preserve local commits, is there another way?

Answer 1

One alternative is splitting from your current commit that include the local commits you want to preserve:

git subtree split --prefix=dir1 HEAD

# Create a branch with the printed commit just to use it later
git branch split_dir_1 <split_commit>

And then do what was described it in the question you mentioned, delete the subdirectory and re-add the subtree.

git rm dir1
git commit
git subtree add --prefix=dir2 . split_commit

Bear in mind that by doing this you will still be able to see in the repository history when the first subtree was created and deleted and re-added.