What Does Git Checkout Do?

3 minutes read

Git checkout is a command in Git that is used to switch between different branches in a repository. It is also used to restore files in the working directory to a specific point in time. When using git checkout to switch branches, it updates the working directory and staging area to reflect the files in the chosen branch. If you use git checkout to restore files, it will overwrite the current state of the files with the version of the files from the specified commit or branch. Overall, git checkout is a versatile command in Git that can be used for navigating between branches and managing file versions in a repository.


How to revert to the last commit with git checkout?

To revert to the last commit using git checkout, you can follow these steps:

  1. Open your terminal or command prompt.
  2. Navigate to the repository where you want to revert to the last commit.
  3. Type the following command to switch to the last commit:
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git checkout HEAD


This command will reset your working directory and staging area to the state of the last commit.


Please note that using git checkout in this way will not create a new commit, but it will simply update your working directory and staging area to match the last commit. If you want to keep the changes from the last commit but in a new branch, you can use the git checkout -b command instead.


How to checkout a specific folder with git command?

To checkout a specific folder in a Git repository, you can use the git checkout command with the --path flag followed by the path to the folder you want to checkout. Here's the command:

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git checkout <branch_name> -- <folder_path>


Replace <branch_name> with the name of the branch you want to checkout and <folder_path> with the path to the folder you want to checkout.


For example, if you want to checkout a folder named src from the master branch, you would run the following command:

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git checkout master -- src


This will only checkout the src folder from the master branch and leave the other files and folders untouched.


How to discard changes with git checkout?

To discard changes with git checkout, you can use the following command:

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git checkout -- <file_name>


This command will discard the changes made to the specified file and restore it to the last committed version. If you want to discard all changes in your working directory, you can use:

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git checkout -- .


This will discard all changes in the working directory and restore the files to the last committed version.


What is the purpose of git checkout -b command?

The purpose of git checkout -b command is to create a new branch and switch to it in one step. This command is a shortcut for creating a new branch using git branch and then switching to it using git checkout. It is useful for quickly creating and switching to a new branch when working on a new feature or bug fix.


What happens when you use git checkout on a branch?

When you use git checkout on a branch, you are switching to that branch in your repository. This means that you will be working on the code that is associated with that branch, and any changes you make will only affect that branch. This command can also be used to create a new branch if you specify a new branch name after the git checkout command.


What is the use of git checkout -- filename?

The command "git checkout -- filename" is used to discard changes made to a specific file in the working directory and revert it back to the version that is currently staged in the index. This can be useful if you have made changes to a file that you no longer want to keep and want to revert it back to its previous state.


It is important to note that this command only affects the specific file mentioned and does not affect any other files in the repository. Additionally, any changes that have been committed to the repository cannot be undone with this command.

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