Sometimes I want to move a commit between branches. This is easy with
git cherry-pick.
However, sometimes I want this commit inserted into my branch at a specific point. This can be done with an interactive rebase.
An interactive rebase lists the commits to be applied to the branch with
respect to, usually, the master branch. I usually use git rebase -i
to squash commits. But there’s nothing magic about the list of commits
provided by the rebase. You can remove them, add to them, change them,
whatever.
Let’s see an example.
git rebase -i master
This invokes your configured editor with the list of commits currently in effect for the branch. For example:
pick aaaa1234
pick bbbb1234
pick cccc1234
These lines can be edited, deleted, whatever. But new lines can also be
added. If, for example, I have a commit, dddd1234, and I want to add
it to the current branch, I can just add it to the list:
pick aaaa1234
pick bbbb1234
pick cccc1234
pick dddd1234
When I exit the editing session, those commits will be applied. I can do the same sort of thing to delete the commit from any other branch.
In the above example, it’s really no different from a cherry pick. However, I don’t have to apply the commit to the end. I can put it anywhere I like:
pick aaaa1234
pick dddd1234
pick bbbb1234
pick cccc1234
That can be useful in some situations, especially if I’m replacing other commits:
pick aaaa1234
pick dddd1234
Powerful stuff.