Revert Changes from Folder to Branch

Revert Changes from Folder to Branch

Here are the manual commands and steps you can use in the future to revert changes in a specific folder back to the main branch version:

Manual Commands to Revert a Folder to Main Branch

Step 1: Check what changes exist

# Navigate to your repository
cd /path/to/your/repo

# Check current git status
git status

# See what changes were made in the specific folder compared to main
git diff origin/main...HEAD -- foldername/

Step 2: Revert the folder to main branch version

# Reset the folder to match exactly what's in the main branch
git checkout origin/main -- foldername/

# Alternative: if you want to specify a different branch
git checkout origin/some-other-branch -- foldername/

Step 3: Check what was changed

# See what files were modified
git status

# Review the changes that will be committed
git diff --staged

Step 4: Commit the reversion

# Commit the reverted changes
git commit -m "Revert foldername/ to main branch version"

Step 5: Clean up any new files (if needed)

# If there were new files added that don't exist in main, remove them
git rm path/to/new/file

# Commit the removal
git commit -m "Remove files that were added and don't exist in main"

Step 6: Verify the reversion

# Confirm no differences exist between your folder and main
git diff origin/main...HEAD -- foldername/

# Should show no output if fully reverted

Step 7: Push changes (optional)

# Push to your remote branch
git push origin your-branch-name

Alternative Methods

Method 1: Using git restore (Git 2.23+)

# Restore files from main branch
git restore --source=origin/main -- foldername/

# Commit the changes
git add -A
git commit -m "Revert foldername/ to main branch version"

Method 2: Reset specific commits affecting the folder

# Find commits that affected the folder
git log --oneline -- foldername/

# Reset to a specific commit (interactive rebase)
git rebase -i HEAD~n  # where n is number of commits back

# Or create a revert commit for specific commits
git revert <commit-hash>

Method 3: Cherry-pick from main

# If you want specific commits from main that affect the folder
git cherry-pick <commit-hash>

Pro Tips

1. Always check differences first: Use git diff origin/main...HEAD -- foldername/ to see what will be reverted
2. Stage changes gradually: You can revert individual files if needed: git checkout origin/main -- specific/file.go
3. Use interactive staging: git add -p to selectively stage parts of files
4. Create a backup branch: Before major changes, create a backup: git checkout -b backup-branch
5. Verify with clean diff: Always end with git diff origin/main...HEAD -- foldername/ showing no output

These commands will work for any folder or file you want to revert to match another branch!