diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/BranchCommand.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/BranchCommand.java
index 5949505..7bac2c4 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/BranchCommand.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/BranchCommand.java
@@ -37,7 +37,8 @@
         + QuoteUtil.quote(url)
         + " "
         + ref
-        + " && git checkout -b change-"
+        + " && "
+        + getGitCheckout("-b change-")
         + id.replaceAll("/", "-")
         + " FETCH_HEAD";
   }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/CheckoutCommand.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/CheckoutCommand.java
index 61703e9..c9be564 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/CheckoutCommand.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/CheckoutCommand.java
@@ -33,7 +33,13 @@
 
   @Override
   String getCommand(String url, String ref, String id) {
-    return "git fetch " + QuoteUtil.quote(url) + " " + ref + " && git checkout FETCH_HEAD";
+    return "git fetch "
+        + QuoteUtil.quote(url)
+        + " "
+        + ref
+        + " && "
+        + getGitCheckout()
+        + "FETCH_HEAD";
   }
 
   @Override
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/GitDownloadCommand.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/GitDownloadCommand.java
index d4babb8..908b51d 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/GitDownloadCommand.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/GitDownloadCommand.java
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@
 
   private static final String DOWNLOAD = "download";
   private static final String UPLOADPACK = "uploadpack";
+  private static final String RECURSE_SUBMODULES = "recurseSubmodules";
   private static final String KEY_ALLOW_TIP_SHA1_IN_WANT = "allowTipSHA1InWant";
   private static final String KEY_ALLOW_REACHABLE_SHA1_IN_WANT = "allowReachableSHA1InWant";
   private static final String KEY_CHECK_FOR_HIDDEN_CHANGE_REFS = "checkForHiddenChangeRefs";
@@ -47,6 +48,7 @@
   private final boolean commandAllowed;
   private final GitRepositoryManager repoManager;
   private final boolean checkForHiddenChangeRefs;
+  protected final String recurseSubmodulesFlag;
 
   GitDownloadCommand(
       @GerritServerConfig Config cfg,
@@ -57,6 +59,8 @@
     this.repoManager = repoManager;
     this.checkForHiddenChangeRefs =
         cfg.getBoolean(DOWNLOAD, KEY_CHECK_FOR_HIDDEN_CHANGE_REFS, false);
+    this.recurseSubmodulesFlag =
+        cfg.getBoolean(DOWNLOAD, RECURSE_SUBMODULES, false) ? "--recurse-submodules " : "";
   }
 
   @Nullable
@@ -89,6 +93,14 @@
     return null;
   }
 
+  protected String getGitCheckout() {
+    return getGitCheckout("");
+  }
+
+  protected String getGitCheckout(String additionalArgs) {
+    return "git checkout " + recurseSubmodulesFlag + additionalArgs;
+  }
+
   private static boolean isValidUrl(String url) {
     try {
       new URIish(url);
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/PullCommand.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/PullCommand.java
index 1084800..4358b09 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/PullCommand.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/PullCommand.java
@@ -33,6 +33,6 @@
 
   @Override
   String getCommand(String url, String ref, String id) {
-    return "git pull " + QuoteUtil.quote(url) + " " + ref;
+    return "git pull " + recurseSubmodulesFlag + QuoteUtil.quote(url) + " " + ref;
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/ResetCommand.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/ResetCommand.java
index 8ed7fa9..2fa79c3 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/ResetCommand.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/ResetCommand.java
@@ -33,6 +33,12 @@
 
   @Override
   String getCommand(String url, String ref, String id) {
-    return "git fetch " + QuoteUtil.quote(url) + " " + ref + " && git reset --hard FETCH_HEAD";
+    return "git fetch "
+        + QuoteUtil.quote(url)
+        + " "
+        + ref
+        + " && git reset "
+        + recurseSubmodulesFlag
+        + "--hard FETCH_HEAD";
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/resources/Documentation/config.md b/src/main/resources/Documentation/config.md
index d86b5df..526f298 100644
--- a/src/main/resources/Documentation/config.md
+++ b/src/main/resources/Documentation/config.md
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
   scheme = anon_git
   scheme = repo
   hide = ssh
+  recurseSubmodules = true
 ```
 
 The download section configures the allowed download methods.
@@ -85,6 +86,15 @@
 
     By default, no scheme will be hidden in the UI.
 
+<a id="download.hide">download.recurseSubmodules</a>
+    Add `--recurse-submodules` to the `checkout` command to update submodules
+    while checking out change.
+
+    Note: recursive checkout can issue multiple parallel fetch requests increasing
+    the load on the server.
+
+    By default, set to `false`.
+
 <a id="download.checkForHiddenChangeRefs">download.checkForHiddenChangeRefs</a>
 :	Whether the download commands should be adapted when the change
 	refs are hidden.
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/BranchCommandTest.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/BranchCommandTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9150a3c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/BranchCommandTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+// Copyright (C) 2023 The Android Open Source Project
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+// http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.download.command;
+
+import static com.google.common.truth.Truth.assertThat;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
+
+import com.google.gerrit.server.config.DownloadConfig;
+import com.google.gerrit.server.git.GitRepositoryManager;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.download.DownloadCommandTest;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.Config;
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+public class BranchCommandTest extends DownloadCommandTest {
+  private static final String TEST_URL = "unit.test/";
+  private static final String TEST_REF = "origin/main";
+  private static final String TEST_ID = "1234";
+  private static final String CHECKOUT_COMMAND_PREFIX =
+      "git fetch " + TEST_URL + " " + TEST_REF + " && ";
+
+  @Test
+  public void buildBranchCommand() {
+    BranchCommand branchCommand = newBranchCommand(defaultGerritConfig());
+
+    String actual = branchCommand.getCommand(TEST_URL, TEST_REF, TEST_ID);
+
+    assertThat(actual)
+        .isEqualTo(CHECKOUT_COMMAND_PREFIX + "git checkout -b change-1234 FETCH_HEAD");
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void buildBranchCommandWithRecurseSubmodules() {
+    Config cfg = defaultGerritConfig();
+    cfg.setBoolean("download", null, "recurseSubmodules", true);
+    BranchCommand branchCommand = newBranchCommand(cfg);
+
+    String actual = branchCommand.getCommand(TEST_URL, TEST_REF, TEST_ID);
+
+    assertThat(actual)
+        .isEqualTo(
+            CHECKOUT_COMMAND_PREFIX
+                + "git checkout --recurse-submodules -b change-1234 FETCH_HEAD");
+  }
+
+  private BranchCommand newBranchCommand(Config cfg) {
+    GitRepositoryManager gitRepositoryManagerMock = mock(GitRepositoryManager.class);
+
+    return new BranchCommand(cfg, new DownloadConfig(cfg), gitRepositoryManagerMock);
+  }
+
+  private Config defaultGerritConfig() {
+    Config cfg = new Config();
+    cfg.setString("download", null, "command", "branch");
+
+    return cfg;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/CheckoutCommandTest.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/CheckoutCommandTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3fc7e4d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/CheckoutCommandTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+// Copyright (C) 2023 The Android Open Source Project
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+// http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.download.command;
+
+import static com.google.common.truth.Truth.assertThat;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
+
+import com.google.gerrit.server.config.DownloadConfig;
+import com.google.gerrit.server.git.GitRepositoryManager;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.download.DownloadCommandTest;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.Config;
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+public class CheckoutCommandTest extends DownloadCommandTest {
+  private static final String TEST_URL = "unit.test/";
+  private static final String TEST_REF = "origin/main";
+  private static final String TEST_ID = "none";
+  private static final String CHECKOUT_COMMAND_PREFIX =
+      "git fetch " + TEST_URL + " " + TEST_REF + " && ";
+
+  @Test
+  public void buildCheckoutCommand() {
+    CheckoutCommand checkoutCommand = newCheckoutCommand(defaultGerritConfig());
+
+    String actual = checkoutCommand.getCommand(TEST_URL, TEST_REF, TEST_ID);
+
+    assertThat(actual).isEqualTo(CHECKOUT_COMMAND_PREFIX + "git checkout FETCH_HEAD");
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void buildCheckoutCommandWithRecurseSubmodules() {
+    Config cfg = defaultGerritConfig();
+    cfg.setBoolean("download", null, "recurseSubmodules", true);
+    CheckoutCommand checkoutCommand = newCheckoutCommand(cfg);
+
+    String actual = checkoutCommand.getCommand(TEST_URL, TEST_REF, TEST_ID);
+
+    assertThat(actual)
+        .isEqualTo(CHECKOUT_COMMAND_PREFIX + "git checkout --recurse-submodules FETCH_HEAD");
+  }
+
+  private CheckoutCommand newCheckoutCommand(Config cfg) {
+    GitRepositoryManager gitRepositoryManagerMock = mock(GitRepositoryManager.class);
+
+    return new CheckoutCommand(cfg, new DownloadConfig(cfg), gitRepositoryManagerMock);
+  }
+
+  private Config defaultGerritConfig() {
+    Config cfg = new Config();
+    cfg.setString("download", null, "command", "checkout");
+
+    return cfg;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/PullCommandTest.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/PullCommandTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e98d6a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/PullCommandTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+// Copyright (C) 2023 The Android Open Source Project
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+// http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.download.command;
+
+import static com.google.common.truth.Truth.assertThat;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
+
+import com.google.gerrit.server.config.DownloadConfig;
+import com.google.gerrit.server.git.GitRepositoryManager;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.download.DownloadCommandTest;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.Config;
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+public class PullCommandTest extends DownloadCommandTest {
+  private static final String TEST_URL = "unit.test/";
+  private static final String TEST_REF = "origin/main";
+  private static final String TEST_ID = "none";
+  private static final String PULL_COMMAND_SUFFIX = TEST_URL + " " + TEST_REF;
+
+  @Test
+  public void buildPullCommand() {
+    PullCommand pullCommand = newPullCommand(defaultGerritConfig());
+
+    String actual = pullCommand.getCommand(TEST_URL, TEST_REF, TEST_ID);
+
+    assertThat(actual).isEqualTo("git pull " + PULL_COMMAND_SUFFIX);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void buildPullCommandWithRecurseSubmodules() {
+    Config cfg = defaultGerritConfig();
+    cfg.setBoolean("download", null, "recurseSubmodules", true);
+    PullCommand pullCommand = newPullCommand(cfg);
+
+    String actual = pullCommand.getCommand(TEST_URL, TEST_REF, TEST_ID);
+
+    assertThat(actual).isEqualTo("git pull --recurse-submodules " + PULL_COMMAND_SUFFIX);
+  }
+
+  private PullCommand newPullCommand(Config cfg) {
+    GitRepositoryManager gitRepositoryManagerMock = mock(GitRepositoryManager.class);
+
+    return new PullCommand(cfg, new DownloadConfig(cfg), gitRepositoryManagerMock);
+  }
+
+  private Config defaultGerritConfig() {
+    Config cfg = new Config();
+    cfg.setString("download", null, "command", "pull");
+
+    return cfg;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/ResetCommandTest.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/ResetCommandTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..81d15df
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/download/command/ResetCommandTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+// Copyright (C) 2023 The Android Open Source Project
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+// http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.download.command;
+
+import static com.google.common.truth.Truth.assertThat;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
+
+import com.google.gerrit.server.config.DownloadConfig;
+import com.google.gerrit.server.git.GitRepositoryManager;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.download.DownloadCommandTest;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.Config;
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+public class ResetCommandTest extends DownloadCommandTest {
+  private static final String TEST_URL = "unit.test/";
+  private static final String TEST_REF = "origin/main";
+  private static final String TEST_ID = "none";
+  private static final String RESET_COMMAND_PREFIX =
+      "git fetch " + TEST_URL + " " + TEST_REF + " && ";
+
+  @Test
+  public void buildResetCommand() {
+    ResetCommand resetCommand = newResetCommand(defaultGerritConfig());
+
+    String actual = resetCommand.getCommand(TEST_URL, TEST_REF, TEST_ID);
+
+    assertThat(actual).isEqualTo(RESET_COMMAND_PREFIX + "git reset --hard FETCH_HEAD");
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void buildResetCommandWithRecurseSubmodules() {
+    Config cfg = defaultGerritConfig();
+    cfg.setBoolean("download", null, "recurseSubmodules", true);
+    ResetCommand resetCommand = newResetCommand(cfg);
+
+    String actual = resetCommand.getCommand(TEST_URL, TEST_REF, TEST_ID);
+
+    assertThat(actual)
+        .isEqualTo(RESET_COMMAND_PREFIX + "git reset --recurse-submodules --hard FETCH_HEAD");
+  }
+
+  private ResetCommand newResetCommand(Config cfg) {
+    GitRepositoryManager gitRepositoryManagerMock = mock(GitRepositoryManager.class);
+
+    return new ResetCommand(cfg, new DownloadConfig(cfg), gitRepositoryManagerMock);
+  }
+
+  private Config defaultGerritConfig() {
+    Config cfg = new Config();
+    cfg.setString("download", null, "command", "reset");
+
+    return cfg;
+  }
+}