Restore a file’s content from an older commit.
Git: Specify a source revision when the desired contents are not in the current index.
set -euo pipefail
git restore --source=HEAD~1 -- note.txt
cat note.txt
git log -1 --format=%sExpected output EXAMPLE
first Expand notes
Details
Requires Git and Bash. Run in a disposable practice repository. The test setup below creates the starting files and commits. Specify a source revision when the desired contents are not in the current index. The input setup creates a disposable practice repository with a fictional local author identity. Run these examples only in that repository.
This changes the working file while keeping current commit history. Review and commit the restored content if wanted.
Tested on Ubuntu 24.04.5 LTS · · git version 2.43.0 · git 1:2.43.0-1ubuntu7.3
Test inputs, results and environment
The exact published code ran in a dedicated Linux test container with prepared inputs. Snippet process uid 65534 with a read-only root filesystem and temporary working files. Networking disabled. Fixtures and output records are isolated from the application database. Testing covers this example and its stated checks, not every input, operating system, or runtime version. The Linux container shares its host's kernel; this is not a native Windows test.
- Architecture / host kernel
- x86_64 / 6.18.54.1-microsoft-standard-WSL2
- Snippet identity / locale
- uid=65534, gid=65534 (unprivileged process) / C.UTF-8
- Interpreter invocation
bash -euo pipefail -c <published code>- Container image ID
sha256:ec91410a8f6ec3e985830b5e3a0560306d36f8c1c5ccd91a6699abe707123fa3- Code SHA-256
f58cb870b19bd19a5ea2c8a92dba96e4f5137e64177a2f61b1925b06c9dba6c7- Dependencies
- git 1:2.43.0-1ubuntu7.3
Test input setup
These are the prepared inputs used by the test harness. See Details above for the prerequisites and how to run this example.
git init -q -b main git config user.name 'Example Developer' git config user.email 'developer@example.invalid' git config commit.gpgsign false git config tag.gpgsign false git config color.ui false printf 'first ' > note.txt git add note.txt git commit -qm 'Initial notes' printf 'second\n' >> note.txt; git add note.txt; git commit -qm 'Expand notes'
Observed standard output
first Expand notes
Exit code: 0. Standard error: empty. Validation: Exact stdout comparison. System-dependent values above are one recorded run.