Cherry-pick changes with Git

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Use git cherry-pick to apply the changes from a specific commit to your current working branch. Use this command to:

  • Backport bug fixes from the default branch to previous release branches.
  • Copy changes from a fork to the upstream repository.
  • Apply specific changes without merging entire branches.

You can also use the GitLab UI to cherry-pick. For more information, see Cherry-pick changes.

caution
Use git cherry-pick carefully because it can create duplicate commits and potentially complicate your project history.

Cherry-pick a single commit

To cherry-pick a single commit from another branch into your current working branch:

  1. Check out the branch you want to cherry-pick into: 

    git checkout your_branch

  2. Identify the Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) of the commit you want to cherry-pick. To find this, check the commit history or use the git log command. For example: 

    $ git log

commit 0000011111222223333344444555556666677777
Merge: 88888999999 aaaaabbbbbb
Author: user@example.com
Date:   Tue Aug 31 21:19:41 2021 +0000

  3. Use the git cherry-pick command. Replace <commit_sha> with the SHA of the commit you identified: 

    git cherry-pick <commit_sha>

Git applies the changes from the specified commit to your current working branch. If there are conflicts, a notification is displayed. You can then resolve the conflicts and continue the cherry-pick process.

Cherry-pick multiple commits

To cherry-pick multiple commits from another branch into your current working branch:

  1. Check out the branch you want to cherry-pick into: 

    git checkout your_branch

  2. Identify the Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) of the commit you want to cherry-pick. To find this, check the commit history or use the git log command. For example: 

    $ git log

commit 0000011111222223333344444555556666677777
Merge: 88888999999 aaaaabbbbbb
Author: user@example.com
Date:   Tue Aug 31 21:19:41 2021 +0000

  3. Use the git cherry-pick command for each commit, replacing <commit_sha> with the SHA of the commit: 

    git cherry-pick <commit_sha_1>
git cherry-pick <commit_sha_2>
...

Alternatively, you can cherry-pick a range of commits using the .. notation: 

   git cherry-pick <start_commit_sha>..<end_commit_sha>

This applies all the commits between <start_commit_sha> and <end_commit_sha> to your current working branch.

Cherry-pick a merge commit

Cherry-picking a merge commit applies the changes from the merge commit to your current working branch.

To cherry-pick a merge commit from another branch into your current working branch:

  1. Check out the branch you want to cherry-pick into: 

    git checkout your_branch

  2. Identify the Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) of the commit you want to cherry-pick. To find this, check the commit history or use the git log command. For example: 

    $ git log

commit 0000011111222223333344444555556666677777
Merge: 88888999999 aaaaabbbbbb
Author: user@example.com
Date:   Tue Aug 31 21:19:41 2021 +0000

  3. Use the git cherry-pick command with the -m option and the index of the parent commit you want to use as the mainline. Replace <commit_sha> with the SHA of the merge commit and <parent_index> with the index of the parent commit. The index starts from 1. For example: 

    git cherry-pick -m 1 <merge-commit-hash>

This configures Git to use the first parent as the mainline. To use the second parent as the mainline, use -m 2.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter conflicts during cherry-picking:

  1. Resolve the conflicts manually in the affected files.

  2. Stage the resolved files: 

    git add <resolved_file>

  3. Continue the cherry-pick process: 

    git cherry-pick --continue

To abort the cherry-pick process and return to the previous state, use the following command: 

git cherry-pick --abort

This undoes any changes made during the cherry-pick process.