How to modify a specific commit?

In this article you will learn that how you can modify commit messages and how to add  new file in existing commit using commit hash and how you can easily modify existing commits 



To modify a specific commit, you will need to use the command git commit --amend. This command allows you to edit the commit message and make changes to the files that were included in the previous commit. Here are the general steps to use git commit --amend:

 

1. Make the necessary changes to the files that you want to include in the previous commit.

2. Use the command git add to stage the changes.

3. Use the command git commit --amend. This will open the default text editor, where you can edit the commit message.

4. Save and close the editor.

5. The previous commit will be replaced with the new changes, and a new commit hash will be generated.

 

It's important to note that if the commit you want to modify is not the most recent one in the branch, you will need to use git rebase -i HEAD~n (n is the number of commits from the HEAD) to change the commit, this will open an editor with all the commit, you can change pick to edit for the commit you want to modify, save and exit, git will put you in a "detached HEAD" state, you'll need to use git rebase --continue once you've finished making changes.

 

Also, it's important to keep in mind that amending commits that have already been pushed to a remote repository can cause problems for other collaborators. it's better to avoid amending commits that have been pushed to a remote repository, and instead create a new commit with the changes.

 

Here's an example of how to modify a specific commit using git commit --amend.

 

Let's say you have made some changes to a file called main.py and you want to include those changes in the previous commit.

1. Make the necessary changes to the file main.py.

2. Use the command git add main.py to stage the changes.

3. Use the command git commit --amend. This will open the default text editor, where you can edit the commit message.

 

git add main.py
git commit --amend

 

4. After making the necessary changes and saving the commit message, the previous commit will be replaced with the new changes, and a new commit hash will be generated.

 

If you want to modify a previous commit that is not the most recent one, you can use git rebase -i HEAD~n (n is the number of commits from the HEAD), this will open an editor with all the commit, you can change pick to edit for the commit you want to modify, save and exit, git will put you in a "detached HEAD" state, you'll need to use git rebase --continue once you've finished making changes.

 

$ git rebase -i HEAD~5

 

how to check new commit hash? You can use git log to check the new commit hash, and git push -f to update the remote repository with the new changes, but remember that this force push will overwrite the remote history, so be careful when using it.

 

You can also git rebase to modify existing commit use the following command.


You can move a sequence of commits to a new base using the rebase command. Git internally creates a new commit for each old commit and moves to the specified new base.


Use git rebase. For example, to modify commit bbc643cd, run:

$ git rebase --interactive 'bbc643cd^'

 

 

 


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