Cherry-pick mulitple commits at once

Git's cherry-pick command allows you to select specific commits from one branch and apply them to another. If you need to cherry-pick multiple commits from the same pull request (or a specific range of commits), you can do this efficiently. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Identify the Commits

To begin, identify the commits you want to cherry-pick. You can find these commits in the pull request, using a Git hosting service like GitHub or GitLab, or via the command line.

Example 1:

Suppose the commits in the pull request are:

commit abc1234: "Added feature X"
commit def5678: "Fixed bug in feature X"
commit ghi9012: "Improved documentation"

2. Cherry-Pick a Single Commit

To cherry-pick one commit:

git cherry-pick <commit-hash>

Example 2:

git cherry-pick abc1234

This applies the changes from commit abc1234 to your current branch.

3. Cherry-Pick Multiple Commits

If you want to cherry-pick multiple commits:

a. List each commit explicitly

You can list all the commit hashes you want to cherry-pick in a single command:

git cherry-pick <commit1> <commit2> <commit3>

Example 3:

git cherry-pick abc1234 def5678 ghi9012

This will sequentially apply the three commits to your current branch.

b. Use a range of commits

If the commits are consecutive (in a linear history), you can use a commit range:

git cherry-pick <start-commit>^..<end-commit>

<start-commit>: The first commit in the range.
<end-commit>: The last commit in the range.

Important: Use ^ to include the starting commit in the range.

Example 4:

git cherry-pick abc1234^..ghi9012

This applies all the commits from abc1234 to ghi9012 inclusively.

4. Resolve Conflicts (if any)

If there are conflicts during the cherry-pick process, Git will pause and allow you to resolve them. You can resolve conflicts as follows:

Open the conflicting files and manually fix the conflicts.
Stage the resolved files:
git add <file>
Continue the cherry-pick process:
git cherry-pick --continue

If you decide to abort the cherry-pick process:

git cherry-pick --abort

5. Verify the Changes

After cherry-picking, verify that the commits have been successfully applied by checking the commit history:

git log

6. Push the Changes

Once you're satisfied with the cherry-picks, push the changes to the remote repository:

git push origin <branch-name>

Example Workflow

You’re working on a branch main and want to cherry-pick commits from a feature branch feature/awesome-feature that were part of a pull request.

Switch to main:
git checkout main
Cherry-pick the commits:
git cherry-pick abc1234 def5678 ghi9012
Resolve conflicts if necessary and continue.
Push the changes:
git push origin main

Best Practices

Keep commits clean: Ensure that each cherry-picked commit has a clear and complete change set.
Use squash when necessary: If the commits are small and tightly related, squash them into a single commit before cherry-picking to simplify history:
git cherry-pick --no-commit <commit1> <commit2> <commit3> git commit -m "Merged features and fixes"
Test after cherry-picking: Test your branch after applying the changes to confirm everything works as expected.

This approach ensures a clean and predictable cherry-picking process for multiple commits.

Last modified: 29 December 2024