Discard changes in one single line

Question

I've noticed that in Tower (Git client for the Mac) the user can discard changes even line by line. I wonder how could this be done using the command line? or maybe is something special of Tower?

I frequently find myself in this case:

@@ -391,7 +392,7 @@ extern BOOL validateReceiptAtPath(NSString *path);

       NSURL *url = [self fileURL];
        if (url != nil) {
                NSRect readFrame = [self _readPreferenceOfFileAtURL:url];
-               
+
                for (NSScreen * screen in [NSScreen screens]) {
                        NSRect screenVisibleRect = [screen visibleFrame];
                        ...

See how I have one + and one - ? I would like to discard it so my commit has the minimum changes (hence less possibilities of conflicts and easier review)

:)

I can understand not wanting them for a review, but I would still recommend checking in whitespace corrections like that so your code base will improve. If they really bug you that much, there's probably a setting in your editor to avoid doing it in the first place (something like "remove whitespace at end of line"). — Karl Bielefeldt, Jun 01 '11 at 16:08

score 35 · Accepted Answer · edited Dec 11 '22 at 14:23

35

This is called interactive staging and can be done using git add -i or git add -p. See the git-add manpage, pro git and the Git Community Book for more information.

EDIT:

To interactively unstage a file, you can use:

git checkout -p HEAD

Also see this SO question: Undo part of unstaged changes in git

edited Dec 11 '22 at 14:23

Community

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answered Jun 01 '11 at 08:25

igorw

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it's incredible that i've never yet used `git checkout -p `. thanks for leading me to this. – WEBjuju Jul 20 '20 at 14:54
This is the correct answer for the OP's question. Just wanted to point something out... This is a great answer if you're trying to undo any changes; however, I'd take caution with this. This will undo the changes in your local file (within hunks, of course). If you intended to **unstage**, but keep the changes in your local file, use [Robert Siemer's answer](https://stackoverflow.com/a/38891603/3993154) instead. – Sometowngeek Jan 20 '22 at 19:58

score 7 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 11 '16 at 08:51

To undo hunks use

git reset --patch

It’s a very hidden feature. You can stage hunk by hunk with git add --interactive, but you can’t unstage this way. git add also features the option --patch which is like --interactive, but goes directly to the “patch” menu point (otherwise you have to hit pENTER).

git reset does not mirror the --interactive option, but has --patch.

Colin Hebert · Answer 3 · 2011-06-01T08:39:19.600

2

You can use git add -e to edit your file right before staging it.

edited Jun 01 '11 at 08:39

answered Jun 01 '11 at 08:32

Colin Hebert

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score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Jun 13 '18 at 10:54

To interactively unstage a file use:

git add -i

then you will get following options -

*** Commands ***
  1: status       2: update       3: revert       4: add untracked
  5: patch        6: diff         7: quit         8: help

Use 3rd option revert to unstage files

Read more here - https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-Tools-Interactive-Staging

Discard changes in one single line

4 Answers4