git-replace - Linux
Overview
git-replace is a powerful Git command used to replace or modify specific portions of a file’s history. It allows developers to selectively rewrite commits or revert changes without affecting the entire file history.
Syntax
git replace [options] <commit> [<paths>...]
where:
<commit>
is the SHA-1 of the commit where the changes will be made.<paths>
specify the files or directories where the changes will be applied.
Options/Flags
-f
,--force
: Overwrite existing files without confirmation.-n
,--dry-run
: Show what changes would be made without performing them.-i
,--interactive
: Launch an interactive editor to manually select the changes to be made.--no-commit
: Do not commit the changes to the index.
Examples
Simple Replacement:
git replace HEAD -- file.txt
Replaces the contents of file.txt
in the HEAD commit with the current version.
Directory Replacement:
git replace HEAD -- path/to/directory
Replaces all files within the specified directory in the HEAD commit.
Interactive Replacement:
git replace -i HEAD -- path/to/file.txt
Opens an editor where you can manually choose which changes to make to file.txt
.
Common Issues:
Permission Denied: Ensure you have write permissions to the files or directories you are trying to replace.
Integration:
git-diff can be used to view the changes made by git-replace:
git diff HEAD HEAD^
Related Commands:
- git revert: Reverts a specific commit without modifying the file history.
- git commit –amend: Amends the most recent commit with new changes.