git cherry-pick a single commit - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

💻 Command Output

intermediate

Output of cherry-pick with a valid commit hash

What is the output when you run git cherry-pick 1a2b3c4 on a branch where the commit 1a2b3c4 exists and applies cleanly?

A error: could not apply 1a2b3c4... Commit message

B Finished one cherry-pick.

C fatal: bad revision '1a2b3c4'

D Already up to date.

💡 Hint

Cherry-pick applies the commit if it can without conflicts.

When the commit exists and applies cleanly, git cherry-pick outputs 'Finished one cherry-pick.'

🧠 Conceptual

intermediate

Understanding cherry-pick behavior on conflicts

What happens if you run git cherry-pick abcdef1 and the changes conflict with your current branch?

A Git pauses and asks you to resolve conflicts before continuing.

B Git automatically merges the changes without any message.

C Git deletes the conflicting files.

D Git discards the cherry-pick and leaves the branch unchanged.

💡 Hint

Cherry-pick stops when conflicts occur.

Git stops the cherry-pick process and asks you to resolve conflicts manually before continuing.

🔀 Workflow

advanced

Correct sequence to cherry-pick and resolve conflicts

Arrange the steps in the correct order to cherry-pick a commit and resolve conflicts if they occur.

A 1,4,2,3

B 2,1,3,4

C 1,2,3,4

D 1,3,2,4

💡 Hint

Cherry-pick stops on conflicts, you fix them, stage changes, then continue.

The correct workflow is to cherry-pick, fix conflicts, stage resolved files, then continue cherry-pick.

❓ Troubleshoot

advanced

Error when cherry-picking a non-existent commit

What error message do you get if you run git cherry-pick deadbeef but the commit hash deadbeef does not exist in your repository?

A fatal: bad revision 'deadbeef'

B error: could not apply deadbeef... Commit message

C Already up to date.

D Finished one cherry-pick.

💡 Hint

Git cannot find the commit hash in the repo.

Git reports 'fatal: bad revision' when the commit hash is invalid or missing.

✅ Best Practice

expert

Best practice to avoid duplicate commits when cherry-picking

Which practice helps avoid duplicate commits when cherry-picking a commit that might already be in your branch history?

A Delete the branch before cherry-picking.

B Always force push after cherry-pick to overwrite history.

C Run <code>git cherry-pick --abort</code> after every cherry-pick.

D Use <code>git cherry-pick -x</code> to record the original commit hash in the message.

💡 Hint

Tracking original commit helps identify duplicates.

Using 'git cherry-pick -x' adds the original commit hash to the commit message, helping track duplicates.