How do I make a branch point at a specific commit? [duplicate]

Solution 1:

You can make master point at 1258f0d0aae this way:

git checkout master
git reset --hard 1258f0d0aae

But you have to be careful about doing this. It may well rewrite the history of that branch. That would create problems if you have published it and other people are working on the branch.

Also, the git reset --hard command will throw away any uncommitted changes (i.e. those just in your working tree or the index).

You can also force an update to a branch with:

git branch -f master 1258f0d0aae

... but git won't let you do that if you're on master at the time.

Solution 2:

If you are currently not on branch master, that's super easy:

git branch -f master 1258f0d0aae

This does exactly what you want: It points master at the given commit, and does nothing else.

If you are currently on master, you need to get into detached head state first. I'd recommend the following two command sequence:

git checkout 1258f0d0aae    #detach from master
git branch -f master HEAD   #exactly as above

#optionally reattach to master
git checkout master

Be aware, though, that any explicit manipulation of where a branch points has the potential to leave behind commits that are no longer reachable by any branches, and thus become object to garbage collection. So, think before you type git branch -f!

This method is better than the git reset --hard approach, as it does not destroy anything in the index or working directory.