How to pull from another branch in Git

Pulling changes from another branch in Git helps synchronize your work with updates made elsewhere in the repository. This guide describes how to pull in changes from other branches, including how to pull only specific commits or files.

Understanding git pull

git pull is a command in Git that fetches changes from a remote repository and then merges them into your current branch. It effectively combines the actions of git fetch followed by git merge.

How to pull changes from another branch

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to pull changes from another branch within your local repository or from a remote repository.

Pulling latest changes from another local branch

If you need to integrate changes from another branch within your local repository, you can follow these steps:

1. Switch to your target branch:

   First, make sure you're on the branch that needs to receive the changes.

   Terminal

   git checkout my-branch
   
   

2. Merge the changes from the other branch:

   Then, merge the changes from the branch you want to pull from. Replace other-branch with the name of the branch you're pulling from.

   Terminal

   git merge other-branch
   
   

   This command will merge the latest committed changes from other-branch into my-branch.

Pulling specific commits from another branch

If you need to pull specific commits rather than all changes from another branch, you can use the git cherry-pick command:

1. Find the commit IDs you want to pull:

   Use git log to find the commit IDs in the other branch.

   Terminal

   git checkout other-branch
   git log
   
   

2. Cherry-pick the commits:

   Switch back to your branch and use git cherry-pick followed by the commit IDs.

   Terminal

   git checkout my-branch
   git cherry-pick <commit-ID>
   
   

Pulling changes from a remote branch

To pull changes from a remote branch, you can specify the remote and branch explicitly:

1. Fetch the specific branch:

   Terminal

   git fetch origin other-branch
   
   

2. Merge the fetched branch:

   Terminal

   git merge origin/other-branch
   
   

   Alternatively, you can use git pull directly if you're on the branch that you want to update:

   Terminal

   git pull origin other-branch
   
   

Pulling specific files from another branch

To pull specific files from another branch:

git checkout other-branch  -- path/to/file

This command will bring the specified file from other-branch into your current branch.

Best practices and tips

• Always make sure you're on the correct branch before pulling or merging changes.
• Regularly commit your changes before pulling from another branch to avoid conflicts.
• Use git status to check your working directory and staging area before and after pulling changes.
• Resolve conflicts carefully when they occur during a merge.

For further reading, see this guide on using the git pull command.