I'd like to un-commit changes against which I've run "git commit."
In particular, I'd like to specify the files.
Example:
> #5 commits ago
> commit -m "bug fix" A.java
>
> #bunch of commits occurred
>
> [command to uncommit] A.java
Note I do not want to remove A.java from my repo. I just want to return it to its base state, i.e. when I had run git clone repo.
Thanks, Kevin
Be careful with rebasing, if you have pushed your commit already you'll have to force push and will probably run into troubles unless you know what you are doing.
Use git revert $SHAYOUWNATOREVERT to revert the commit you don't want anymore. This will basically create an "inverted" commit that undoes the given one.
You can do a rebase interactive and remove the commit. It might not work if later commits depend on that commit though.
git rebase -i HEAD~5
and just delete the appropriate line, then save and exit.
DO NOT do this if you have pushed to remote.
Unless A.java contains private data that cannot exist in the repo history, you should commit a deletion of the file, not try to remove its previous existence.
git rm A.java
If the file contains sensitive data which must be removed, it is possible to remove the history of the file, but it will rewrite refs, require a forced push, and require extra work on the part of anyone who has cloned or pulled your current refs.
https://help.github.com/articles/remove-sensitive-data
In short:
git filter-branch --index-filter 'git rm --cached --ignore-unmatch A.java' --prune-empty --tag-name-filter cat -- --all
Edit to incorporate answer if trying to restore a version from another repo or branch:
If A.java is a file that you've modified, and you wish to return it to the original version that is available at upstream/master then this will replace your current copy:
git checkout upstream/master A.java
upstream/master contains the version you want, git checkout upstream/master A.java will get you the original version.git remote add upstream https://... will make the checkout command work assuming master exists upstream and contains the version you want.