You’ve got a hotfix chilling on dev that must land on main pronto. But merging dev would drag in half-baked features and who knows what else. Enter git cherry-pick your surgical code transplant tool.

What actually happens?

Run:

git checkout main
git cherry-pick <commit-hash>

Git grabs the diff from <commit-hash> and replays it on main as a brand-new commit. Same content, fresh identity.

Why you need this

• Hotfix emergencies: pluck that one bugfix without the noise.
• Selective feature moves: steal just the feature you want.
• History hacks: clean up messy branches by cherry-picking verified commits.

Anatomy of the output

[main 5f8d3e2] Fix typo in README
 Author: teammate <teammate@example.com>
 Date:   Fri Jul 4 17:22:46 2025 +0530

• 5f8d3e2: new commit hash no shady reuse.
• Message & author carried over to keep context.

Conflict mode: activate

Conflicts are inevitable. When they hit:

1. Fix markers (<<<<, ====, >>>>) in your favorite editor.
2. git add <resolved-files>
3. git cherry-pick --continue

Spooked? Reset with:

git cherry-pick --abort

Back to pre-cherry-pick bliss.

Pro tips

• Cherry-pick small, self-contained commits large ones invite chaos.
• Avoid cherry-picking merge commits unless you enjoy pain.
• Push immediately after your successful pick don’t ghost your teammates.
• Always ask: “Merge or cherry-pick?” If you need more than one commit, merging might be smarter.

Quick scenario

1. Team fixes a critical bug on dev.

2. Stakeholders demand it on main right now.

3. Other dev commits? Unstable, unreviewed—thanks but no thanks.

4. You:

   git checkout main
   git cherry-pick abc1234

5. Customers: happy.

6. You: legend.

Interactive demo

TL;DR

• What: replay one commit onto another branch.
• How: git cherry-pick <hash>.
• Why: hotfixes, targeted changes, branch surgery.