I've spent a lot of time ripping out git submodules from repos my teams use, but I've spent an equally large amount of time wondering why there doesn't seem to be a better option for managing arbitrary dependencies across repos in the Year of Our Lord 2024. So, I put together a really early version of such an arbitrary-dependency manager. It's called vdm, and you can find it in the linked URL above & below.
I'm sharing mostly because I'm curious if I'm blatantly missing some other tool that exists that isn't language-specific (like Bit for JS seems to be, for example), but also in case people have any hot-takes or feedback on the functionality as listed in the README.
Also of note is that I'm not sharing to potentially monetize or "generate customer interest" or anything -- I'm just another builder on the internet.
Thanks for looking, and let me know if you have any questions!