Git: How to Checkout a File from Another Branch?

To check out a file from another branch in Git, follow these steps:

Make Sure You’re on the Correct Branch: First, ensure you’re on the branch where you want to check out the file. You can switch branches using:

git checkout <your-branch>

Check Out the File: Use the git checkout command with the specific branch name and file path. Replace <branch-name> with the branch where the file currently exists, and <file-path> with the path to the file you want to check out:

git checkout <branch-name> -- <file-path>

For example, to check out index.html from the feature-branch to your current branch:

git checkout feature-branch -- index.html

Stage and Commit: After checking out the file, it will be in your working directory, but you need to stage and commit it if you want to keep it:

git add <file-path>
git commit -m "Checked out <file-path> from <branch-name>"

This method allows you to retrieve a file from another branch without switching branches entirely.