In Git, it’s common to want just one specific commit from a remote repository—without pulling the entire branch. Whether you’re cherry-picking a hotfix or reviewing a past change, Git provides tools to fetch and apply specific commits efficiently.
In this blog, you’ll learn how to pull a specific commit from GitHub using git fetch and git cherry-pick.
✅ Prerequisites
Ensure you have:
- Git installed on your system
- Access to the remote repository (e.g., GitHub)
- The commit hash (SHA) of the specific commit you want to pull
🔹 Step 1: Fetch Latest Commits from GitHub
Before selecting a specific commit, make sure your local repo is updated with the latest changes from the remote:
git fetch origin
This will update your local references without merging anything.
🔹 Step 2: Identify the Commit Hash
Find the commit hash (e.g., a1b2c3d4) on GitHub:
- Navigate to the repo
- Go to Commits
- Copy the full or short SHA of the desired commit
🔹 Step 3: Cherry-Pick the Commit
Now apply that specific commit to your current branch:
git cherry-pick <commit-hash>
Example:
git cherry-pick a1b2c3d4
This copies the commit changes into your current branch without merging the entire branch.
🔁 Optional: Pull from a Specific Remote Branch First
If the commit is on a different remote branch, fetch that branch first:
git fetch origin feature-branch
Then cherry-pick the commit from that branch:
git cherry-pick <commit-hash>
🚫 Handling Cherry-Pick Conflicts
If you get a conflict while cherry-picking:
- Git will pause and show the conflict.
- Manually resolve the conflict in the affected file(s).
- After resolving, run:
git add .
git cherry-pick --continue
Or, to abort:
git cherry-pick --abort
✅ Summary
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
| Fetch remote commits | git fetch origin |
| Cherry-pick a commit | git cherry-pick <commit-hash> |
| Abort cherry-pick | git cherry-pick --abort |
| Continue after conflict resolution | git cherry-pick --continue |
🚀 Final Thoughts
Pulling a specific commit from GitHub is a powerful Git skill—perfect for hotfixes, code reviews, and precise version control. Just remember that cherry-picking rewrites history, so it’s best used on local or feature branches unless you’re confident in the changes.
