diff --git a/builtin/add.c b/builtin/add.c
index 5f817ad77f..2f1d57a787 100644
--- a/builtin/add.c
+++ b/builtin/add.c
@@ -279,6 +279,7 @@ static int edit_patch(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 
 	argc = setup_revisions(argc, argv, &rev, NULL);
 	rev.diffopt.output_format = DIFF_FORMAT_PATCH;
+	DIFF_OPT_SET(&rev.diffopt, IGNORE_DIRTY_SUBMODULES);
 	out = open(file, O_CREAT | O_WRONLY, 0644);
 	if (out < 0)
 		die ("Could not open '%s' for writing.", file);