Cherry-picking & Reverting - Git & Version Control

Git allows you to selectively apply commits from one branch to another using cherry-pick, and safely undo changes with revert. These tools are essential for hotfixes and fixing mistakes.

1. Git Cherry-pick

cherry-pick takes a commit from one branch and applies it to another. This is incredibly useful when you've fixed a bug in a development branch and want to apply it to production without merging the entire feature branch.

Basic Syntax

git checkout production
git cherry-pick <commit-hash>

Example with Result

Suppose you have a hotfix a1b2c3d on dev branch.

Command:

git checkout main
git cherry-pick a1b2c3d

Result:

[main f4e5d6c] Fix critical security vulnerability
 Date: Fri Apr 10 14:00:00 2026 +0000
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

Tip: Use -x flag to keep track of where the commit came from.

git cherry-pick -x a1b2c3d

2. Git Revert

revert creates a new commit that is the exact inverse of an existing commit. It's the safe way to undo changes in a shared repository because it doesn't rewrite history.

Basic Syntax

git revert <commit-hash>

Example with Result

You accidentally committed a broken feature z9y8x7w.

Command:

git revert z9y8x7w

Result:

[main b5c4d3e] Revert "Add broken feature"
 This reverts commit z9y8x7w123...
 2 files changed, 0 insertions(+), 12 deletions(-)

3. Revert vs. Reset (DevOps Best Practice)

Tool	Action	Use Case	Shared History?
Reset	Deletes commits from history	Fixing local mistakes	Dangerous! (Never use on `main`)
Revert	Adds a new "undo" commit	Undoing shared code	Safe

4. Resolving Conflicts

During a cherry-pick or revert, conflicts can happen.

Action:

Resolve the conflicts in the files.
git add <files>
git cherry-pick --continue (or git revert --continue)

Summary: The Hotfix Workflow

Find the commit ID on your dev branch.
Switch to the production/main branch.
Use git cherry-pick <commit-hash>.
Push to production.