Cherry Picking

Apply specific commits from one branch to another.

What is Cherry Pick?

Cherry pick takes a commit from one branch and applies it to another, without merging the entire branch.

Before:
main:    A---B---C
              \
feature:       D---E---F

Cherry pick E to main:
main:    A---B---C---E'
              \
feature:       D---E---F

Basic Cherry Pick

Cherry Pick Commands

Command	Description
git cherry-pick <commit>	Apply commit
git cherry-pick -n <commit>	Apply without committing
git cherry-pick --continue	Continue after conflict
git cherry-pick --abort	Cancel cherry pick

Single Commit

git cherry-pick abc1234

Multiple Commits

# Multiple specific commits
git cherry-pick abc1234 def5678

# Range of commits
git cherry-pick abc1234..ghi9012

Cherry Pick Options

Without Auto-Commit

git cherry-pick -n abc1234

Keep Original Author

git cherry-pick -x abc1234

Adds "cherry picked from commit abc1234" to message.

Handling Conflicts

When cherry pick has conflicts:

1. Resolve conflicts in files
2. Stage: git add .
3. Continue: git cherry-pick --continue

Or abort:

git cherry-pick --abort

Use Cases

• Hotfix: Apply bug fix from develop to main
• Selective features: Take specific commits without merging all
• Backporting: Apply fix to older release branches

Cherry Pick Workflow

# Find commit to pick
git log --oneline feature-branch

# Switch to target branch
git checkout main

# Cherry pick the commit
git cherry-pick abc1234

Caution

Cherry picked commits get new hashes. The original and cherry picked commits are different commits with the same changes.

Exercise: Cherry Pick a Commit

Cherry pick a commit from the log: