Cherry Pick Commits in Git

Cherry Pick Commits in Git

Cherry picking is a powerful Git feature that allows you to apply specific commits from one branch to another. This guide will show you how to use cherry picking effectively to manage your codebase.

What You’ll Learn

• What is cherry picking
• When to use cherry picking
• How to cherry pick commits
• Handling conflicts
• Best practices

Implementation Steps

1. Basic Cherry Pick

   # Cherry pick a specific commit
   git cherry-pick <commit-hash>
   

   • Applies commit to current branch
   • Creates new commit with same changes
   • Preserves commit message
   • Maintains authorship

2. Multiple Commits

   # Cherry pick range of commits
   git cherry-pick <start-commit>..<end-commit>
   
   # Cherry pick multiple specific commits
   git cherry-pick <commit1> <commit2> <commit3>
   

   • Apply multiple commits
   • Maintain commit order
   • Handle conflicts
   • Preserve history

3. Cherry Pick Options

   # Keep original commit message
   git cherry-pick -x <commit-hash>
   
   # Skip commit if already applied
   git cherry-pick --skip
   
   # Abort cherry pick
   git cherry-pick --abort
   

   • Control commit messages
   • Handle duplicates
   • Manage conflicts
   • Recover from errors

4. Conflict Resolution

   # Resolve conflicts
   git add resolved-files
   git cherry-pick --continue
   
   # Skip conflicting commit
   git cherry-pick --skip
   

   • Handle merge conflicts
   • Continue after resolution
   • Skip problematic commits
   • Maintain clean history

Best Practices

1. When to Cherry Pick

   • Apply hotfixes to multiple branches
   • Backport features
   • Fix specific issues
   • Share changes between branches

2. Cherry Pick Strategy

   • Pick related commits together
   • Maintain commit order
   • Test after cherry picking
   • Document picked commits

3. Conflict Management

   • Resolve conflicts carefully
   • Test after resolution
   • Document changes
   • Keep history clean

4. Safety Measures

   • Create backup branch
   • Test before pushing
   • Document picked commits
   • Communicate with team

Common Use Cases

1. Hotfix Application

   # Apply hotfix to multiple branches
   git checkout main
   git cherry-pick hotfix-commit
   git checkout develop
   git cherry-pick hotfix-commit
   

2. Feature Backporting

   # Backport feature to older version
   git checkout release-1.0
   git cherry-pick feature-commits
   

3. Bug Fix Sharing

   # Share bug fix between branches
   git cherry-pick bugfix-commit
   

4. Selective Updates

   # Pick specific changes
   git cherry-pick commit1 commit2
   

Advanced Usage

1. Cherry Pick with Rebase

   # Rebase and cherry pick
   git rebase -i HEAD~3
   git cherry-pick <commit>
   

2. Cherry Pick with Conflicts

   # Handle conflicts
   git cherry-pick <commit>
   # Resolve conflicts
   git add resolved-files
   git cherry-pick --continue
   

3. Cherry Pick with Hooks

   # Pre-cherry-pick hook
   #!/bin/sh
   # Add validation logic
   

4. Cherry Pick with Reflog

   # Recover from mistakes
   git reflog
   git reset --hard HEAD@{1}
   

Common Issues and Solutions

1. Merge Conflicts

   # Resolve conflicts
   git add resolved-files
   git cherry-pick --continue
   

2. Duplicate Commits

   # Skip if already applied
   git cherry-pick --skip
   

3. Wrong Commit

   # Abort cherry pick
   git cherry-pick --abort
   

Conclusion

Cherry picking is a powerful tool for managing code across branches. Remember to:

• Use cherry pick appropriately
• Handle conflicts carefully
• Test after cherry picking
• Document picked commits
• Follow team standards

Next Steps

After mastering cherry picking, you might want to:

• Learn about Git workflows
• Explore Git rebase
• Study Git hooks
• Understand Git internals