Git Cherry Pick: What Is It and How to Use It?
One of its most useful features is the ability to cherry-pick changes from one branch and apply them to another. In this guide, we’ll explain what Git cherry-pick is, how to use it, and some best practices to help you get started.
What Is Git Cherry-Pick?
Git cherry-pick is a command that allows you to apply a specific commit from one branch to another. This is useful when you want to apply a single change or a series of changes to a branch that is not related to the original branch. For example, you may want to apply a bug fix from a development branch to a production branch without including other changes that are not ready for release.
How to Use Git Cherry-Pick?
Using Git cherry-pick is simple. Here are the steps:
Identify the commit you want to apply to the target branch. You can find the commit hash by running git log.
Check out the target branch using git checkout.
Run git cherry-pick
<commit-hash>to apply the commit to the target branch.
For example, let’s say you want to apply a commit with the hash 12345 from the dev branch to the master branch. Here are the commands you would run:
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$ git checkout master
$ git cherry-pick 12345
This will apply the changes from the 12345 commit to the master branch.
Best Practices for Using Git Cherry-Pick
Here are some best practices to keep in mind when using Git cherry-pick:
Only cherry-pick changes that are necessary for the target branch. Cherry-picking too many changes can lead to conflicts and make it harder to maintain the codebase.
Always test the changes on the target branch before committing them. This will help you catch any errors or conflicts that may arise.
Use Git rebase instead of cherry-pick when you need to apply a series of changes from one branch to another. Git rebase will apply the changes in order, whereas cherry-pick applies them one at a time.
Communicate with your team before cherry-picking changes from their branch. This will help avoid conflicts and ensure that everyone is aware of the changes being made.
Conclusion
Git cherry-pick is a powerful command that allows you to apply specific commits from one branch to another. It is useful when you need to apply a single change or a series of changes to a branch that is not related to the original branch. By following best practices and communicating with your team, you can use Git cherry-pick to efficiently manage changes to your codebase.