Pull A single file or a folder from another branch

Sometimes you need to get a specific file or folder from another branch without switching branches or merging everything. Here are several methods to accomplish this.

Method 1: Using git restore (Git 2.23+)

The modern way to restore files from another branch:

# Restore a single file from another branch
git restore --source=branch-name path/to/file.txt

# Restore a folder from another branch
git restore --source=branch-name path/to/folder/

# Restore multiple files
git restore --source=branch-name file1.txt file2.txt folder/

Method 2: Using git checkout (Traditional method)

# Checkout a single file from another branch
git checkout branch-name -- path/to/file.txt

# Checkout a folder from another branch
git checkout branch-name -- path/to/folder/

# Checkout multiple files/folders
git checkout branch-name -- file1.txt folder/ file2.txt

Method 3: Using git show (For single files only)

# Copy content of a file from another branch
git show branch-name:path/to/file.txt > path/to/file.txt

# View the content without saving (useful for inspection)
git show branch-name:path/to/file.txt

Examples

# Get package.json from the develop branch
git restore --source=develop package.json

# Get entire src folder from feature branch
git checkout feature-branch -- src/

# Copy config file from main branch
git show main:config/database.yml > config/database.yml

Important Notes

• These commands will overwrite the current version of the file/folder
• Changes are staged automatically and ready to commit
• Use git status to see what files were modified
• You can use commit hashes instead of branch names: git restore --source=abc123 file.txt