In git, how do I remove a commit from one branch and apply it to a different branch?

Question

I have two branches off of master, each one for a different feature, and then I have a synthesis branch that combines the two. I committed something to the synthesis branch, but now I see I would have rather applied that change to one of the branches particular to that feature. Is there a way to do this unapply/apply somewhere else maneuver with git?

Answer 1

Cherry-pick commit to target branch and reset source branch. Assuming, you want to move the latest commit from source branch to target, do:

git checkout target
git cherry-pick source
git checkout source
git reset --hard source^

If the commit wasn't the last, you will have to use git rebase -i instead of the last command and choose specific commit name for your cherry-pick.

Answer 2

Generally, when I do something like this, I will:

1. Create a reverse patch file using git diff (e.g. git diff HEAD^ HEAD)
2. Apply this reverse patch to the branch I want to remove the change from.
3. Check out the branch I DO want the change on
4. Use git cherry-pickto apply the applicable commit

I believe there is an easier way, but I prefer this since I use (and remember) the diff/cherry-pick commands better