How do I overwrite a single directory from another branch without merging the whole branch?

Use git checkout <source-branch> -- <path>/ . For example, git checkout dev -- scripts/ copies only the scripts/ directory from dev into your current branch, without merging any other files. Commit the result to record the change.

Does git checkout overwrite uncommitted changes in the working directory?

Yes. git checkout <branch> -- <path>/ replaces the files at that path with the source-branch versions, discarding any uncommitted local edits there. Commit or stash your work first if you need to keep it.

Why does git checkout create new files in the target directory?

git checkout <source> -- <path>/ mirrors the source directory exactly, so files present in the source but missing in the destination are created. The commit output reports them, for example create mode 100744 scripts/publish/how_to.md .

What is the difference between git checkout and git restore for restoring files?

git checkout moves HEAD, switches branches, and can overwrite paths from another branch. git restore is the newer, narrower command dedicated to restoring file contents from the index or a commit, giving more granular control without touching HEAD.

Git Checkout Directory From Another Branch: How to Overwrite Its Contents

To checkout a directory (or folder) from another branch and overwrite its contents on your current branch, run git checkout <source-branch> -- <path>/ and commit the result. The same command also works to replace a single file with its version from another branch — for example, git checkout dev -- scripts/ replaces the scripts/ directory on your current branch with the version from dev, and git checkout dev -- path/to/file.py replaces just that one file.

Recently, I had to overwrite the “scripts” directory in my master branch with the files stored in the “scripts” directory of the “dev” branch. Here, I share the simplest way to overwrite the required directory completely with the respective directory contents from another branch.

Use this git checkout command with caution, since it completely rewrites your files in the destination branch.

What git checkout does, the step-by-step version and the common pathspec error follow below.

What is git checkout?

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Overwrite a Directory from Another Branch: Step-by-Step git checkout Commands

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error: pathspec ‘dev’ did not match any file(s) known to git

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Conclusion: git checkout Overwrites a Directory Path in One Command

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References

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Git Checkout for overwriting directories from different branches

📚 This post is part of the "Git Survival Guide" series

Git Checkout Directory From Another Branch: How to Overwrite Its Contents

What is git checkout?

Overwrite a Directory from Another Branch: Step-by-Step git checkout Commands

error: pathspec ‘dev’ did not match any file(s) known to git

Conclusion: git checkout Overwrites a Directory Path in One Command

References

References

Citation

Git Checkout for overwriting directories from different branches

📚 This post is part of the "Git Survival Guide" series

Git Checkout Directory From Another Branch: How to Overwrite Its Contents

What is git checkout?

Overwrite a Directory from Another Branch: Step-by-Step git checkout Commands

error: pathspec ‘dev’ did not match any file(s) known to git

Conclusion: git checkout Overwrites a Directory Path in One Command

References

You're in

References

Citation