In Git how to fix a delete then re-add commit that's way back in the history?

Question

In a project a subcontractor moved some files around in the tree, did a commit (Git marked them as deleted), used git add to re-add them to the tree. That happened several commits ago. Before I merge the changes back into my tree, I'd like to fix this. How can I "reconnect" these files at the right place in the git history?

Update

Okay, so, because people are suggesting a commit undo. That's not what I want (I think).

Imagine the following situation

A
|
|\
| \
|  B
|   mv file_x file_y
|   git commit 1
|   |
|   |
|   git commit 2
|   |
|   |
|   git commit 3
|   |
|   |
|   git add file_y
|   git commit 4
| /
|/
|

I'd like to "splice" the history of file_x up to commit 1 with file_y since commit 4 without loosing any of the other changes that happened in between and commits 1 and 4.

If the commit contains only that action, you should be able to simply revert the commit, no? — isherwood, Jan 23 '15 at 17:28
@isherwood, a `git revert` would create a new commit at the currently active head. I think the OP wants the changes to be undone at the same point where they were originally made. — ChrisGPT was on strike, Jan 23 '15 at 17:45
possible duplicate of [Undo a particular commit in Git](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2318777/undo-a-particular-commit-in-git) — isherwood, Jan 23 '15 at 17:52
It's not a simple "undo" I want to make. Essentially I'd like to "splice" the file history between the delete and the add. — datenwolf, Jan 23 '15 at 17:55

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 23 '15 at 18:02

One possibility would be to create a second branch, reset the first branch to prior to the offending commit, then cherry-pick the desirable commits from the second branch.

git checkout branch1
git checkout -b branch2
git reset --hard <commit sha>
git cherry-pick <commit sha from branch 2>
...

In Git how to fix a delete then re-add commit that's way back in the history?

Update

1 Answers1