diff --git a/builtin/commit.c b/builtin/commit.c
index 66fdd22..3cb1ef7 100644
--- a/builtin/commit.c
+++ b/builtin/commit.c
@@ -1256,6 +1256,7 @@
 	struct wt_status s;
 
 	wt_status_prepare(&s);
+	gitmodules_config();
 	git_config(git_commit_config, &s);
 	in_merge = file_exists(git_path("MERGE_HEAD"));
 	s.in_merge = in_merge;