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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-25T17:12:03+00:00

git version 1.7.5.4 Ubuntu 11.10 Is it possible to merge some selected pieces of

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git version 1.7.5.4
Ubuntu 11.10

Is it possible to merge some selected pieces of source code across a few files?

I have been working on 2 different branches i.e. branch1 and branch2.

Currently I am on branch2, and there are some changes from branch1 that I want to add to branch2.

All the selected pieces I want are on a single commit on branch1.

I could just switch to branch1 copy the changes, then switch back to branch2 and paste them in. However, I would rather learn how git could do this for me.

Also, I am worried that if I use git I could merge some changes from branch1 that I do not want in branch2. So that is why I want to do it by selecting the pieces.

Many thanks for any suggestions,

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    That’s not really how git works. When you merge commits, you either merge the entire commit or you don’t merge any of it – otherwise, the integrity of the history graph would be compromised.

    What you could do is:

    1. git checkout -b temp_branch branch2
    2. git checkout branch1 /path/to/file/with_changes
    3. Repeat step #2 for each file involved.
    4. git reset HEAD
    5. git add -p and only stage the portions of the file changes that you want.
    6. git commit
    7. git checkout -f branch2
    8. git merge temp_branch

    This would merge in a new, different commit from those on branch1 that had the partial changes – but note that if you later went to merge branch1 into branch2, you’d have to manually resolve the conflicts, because creating the new partial-changes commit makes a separate, distinct branch of history.

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