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Git and GitHub: How to Revert a Single File.

Joseph Trettevik on June 14, 2020

Song of the Week Introduction Once you start collaborating with other developer it's going to be important to know how to...
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Gerry Tan

In most cases you want to checkout to the commit before the most recent ones. So the command should be:

git checkout [commit ID]~1 -- path/to/file

~1 here is reference to the commit's first parent, more info.

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Connor Leech

You can also leave the commit hash out, to for instance go back to the most recent commit (the HEAD):

git checkout -- path/to/your/file
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radley112

Takeaways: @geometry dash
Find the commit ID of the version of the file you want to revert to.
Find the path to the file you want to revert from the working directory.
In the terminal, change directories to the working directory.
Type git checkout [commit ID] -- path/to/file and hit enter.
Commit the change to the reverted file.
(this is the first result i found)

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Peter Henry

I'm trying this, and all is great...until the last step of trying to push. I get this error,
fatal: You are not currently on a branch (but I am, I can clearly see I'm on the branch that has the commit hash as stated above)
To push the history leading to the current (detached HEAD)
state now, use
git push origin HEAD:

and when I do that....
! [rejected] HEAD -> name of my branch <non-fast-forward)
error: failed to push some reds to 'bitbucket.org/company/more paths'

The red errors with fail and rejected is not confidence inspiring. What am I doing wrong?

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Japan Shah

Thanks @lofiandcode for the nice article - I directly jumped to Takeaways section and it worked.

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Nathan wells

In the world of version control, mistakes happen. Fortunately, Git offers several ways to revert changes, including reverting a single file. This article will guide you through two methods to revert a single file in Git and GitHub:

1. Using Git Checkout:

This approach allows you to revert to a specific commit for a single file.

Steps:

  1. Find the commit ID of the version you want to revert to.
  • Use git log to view the commit history of the file.
  • Navigate to your local repository.

  • Run the command: git checkout [commit ID] --

  • Replace [commit ID] with the actual commit ID you found.

  • Stage the changes: git add

  • Commit the changes: git commit -m "Revert changes to "

  • Push your changes to GitHub: git push origin HEAD

2. Using Git Reset:

This method allows you to discard changes made to a single file and revert it to the state in the working directory or the index.

Steps:

  • Navigate to your local repository.

  • Run the command: git reset HEAD
    This resets the file to the state in the HEAD commit.

  • Alternatively, to revert to the state in the index: git reset HEAD^

  • Stage the changes: git add

  • Commit the changes: git commit -m "Revert changes to "

  • Push your changes to GitHub: git push origin HEAD

Remember:

  • Always back up your repository before making any significant changes.

  • Consider using a commit message that clearly describes the revert action.

  • These methods only revert changes locally. You need to push your changes to GitHub to reflect them on the remote repository.

Additional Resources:

Git documentation on checkout: git-scm.com/docs/git-checkout
Git documentation on reset: git-scm.com/docs/git-reset
GitHub Help article on reverting commits: docs.github.com/en/desktop/managin...
By understanding these methods, you can easily revert changes to a single file in Git and GitHub, ensuring your code base remains clean and reflects your desired state as shoviv.

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Chris Cook
git show some_commit_sha1 -- some_file.c | git apply -R
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stackoverflow.com/a/7196615/1967693

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Vinicius Rio

Simple and useful! Thanks

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pradeepkatiyar007

So, while the guide focuses on a specific task, the underlying techniques offer a powerful way to explore and navigate the history of your code, like a developer's own time machine!

Wonderful for OST vs PST!

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Victor Eijkhout

Please proofread. Second sentence "you're" s/b "your". Last sentence of that paragraph "what" s/b "way". Et cetera.

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Jo

This is good know-how. Thank you Joseph!

Going to bookmark it, and keep the knowledge of the possibilities in my brain bin.

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Rajarajacholan

You nailed it, it works well! So much details yet essential. Appreciate your passion and patience!!!

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Eduard Mandy

The new commit can be avoided with amend or squash.
E.g. If I revert a file from the last commint I just

git commit --amend
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after the checkout.

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