Editing Commits

One of the most powerful uses of interactive rebase is the ability to edit commits. This allows you to make changes to the contents of previous commits, which can be useful for fixing errors, adding new modifications, or reorganizing your commit history.

How to Edit a Commit

To edit a commit during an interactive rebase, use the edit (or e) command. This will stop the rebase process at the specified commit and allow you to make changes before continuing.

Example:

Suppose you have the following commit history and want to edit the commit Add new feature:

plaintext

After saving and closing the interactive rebase file, Git will pause at the Add new feature commit. At this point, you can make any changes you want.

1. Make the Changes

Modify the necessary files in your working directory. Once you have made the changes, add the modified files to the index (staging area) using the following command:

bash

2. Amend the Commit

Next, amend the previous commit to include the changes using the following command:

bash

This will open your default text editor so you can modify the commit message if needed. Save and close the editor to complete the commit amendment.

3. Continue the Rebase

Once you have finished editing the commit, you can continue with the rebase process using:

bash

If you need to temporarily stop the rebase, you can use:

bash

This will revert all changes made by the rebase and return your branch to its original state.

Complete Example

Suppose the Add new feature commit contains an error that you need to fix. The entire process would be as follows:

1. Start the interactive rebase:

   bash
   

git rebase -i HEAD~4 ```

2. Mark the Add new feature commit for editing by changing pick to edit:

   plaintext
   

pick e3c43df Initial commit pick f23d1b2 Update README edit a54a3f1 Add new feature pick bd671cd Fix typo ```

3. Make the necessary modifications and add them to the index:

   bash
   

git add modified_file ```

4. Amend the commit to include the changes:

   bash
   

git commit --amend ```

5. Continue the rebase:

   bash
   

git rebase --continue ```

Visual Resources

[Placeholder: Image showing the complete workflow for editing a commit during an interactive rebase, including the use of edit, git add, git commit --amend, and git rebase --continue]