# Managing a CircleCI project with a public repo that calls private repo submodules in GitHub

**URL:** <https://discuss.circleci.com/t/managing-a-circleci-project-with-a-public-repo-that-calls-private-repo-submodules-in-github/25230>\
**Category:** Integrations and Accounts\
**Created:** [September 18, 2018, 7:09pm UTC](https://discuss.circleci.com/t/managing-a-circleci-project-with-a-public-repo-that-calls-private-repo-submodules-in-github/25230 "2018-09-18T19:09:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![eryan04](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@eryan04](https://discuss.circleci.com/u/eryan04)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 7:09pm UTC](https://discuss.circleci.com/t/managing-a-circleci-project-with-a-public-repo-that-calls-private-repo-submodules-in-github/25230/1 "2018-09-18T19:09:32Z")

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Is there a way to easily manage a CircleCI project that consists of a public repo with a private repo submodule on GitHub? We have our main project on a public repo, but some of the code is sensitive so we are trying to maintain it within a private repo and calling it as a submodule of the main public repo. I haven’t found a definitive solution outlining how this would be setup and managed efficiently. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

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**Author:** ![halfer](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/circleci/user_avatar/discuss.circleci.com/halfer/32/9083_2.png) [@halfer](https://discuss.circleci.com/u/halfer)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 9:17am UTC](https://discuss.circleci.com/t/managing-a-circleci-project-with-a-public-repo-that-calls-private-repo-submodules-in-github/25230/2 "2018-09-19T09:17:05Z")

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I’m pretty sure you could get that to work. You could use `add_ssh_keys` as usual, then do your `git submodule` commands after the `checkout`. Give it a go perhaps, and report back if you have any issues?

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/circleci/original/3X/5/1/511608acda8e85906e15909b57bd0a46c1dbe291.png) [@system](https://discuss.circleci.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 9:17am UTC](https://discuss.circleci.com/t/managing-a-circleci-project-with-a-public-repo-that-calls-private-repo-submodules-in-github/25230/3 "2018-12-18T09:17:08Z")

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Closed on December 18, 2018, 9:17am UTC

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