How to Abort Cherry Pick in Git: Simple Steps

To abort a cherry pick in git, use the command git cherry-pick --abort. This cancels the current cherry-pick process and resets your branch to the state before the cherry-pick started.

Syntax

The command to abort a cherry pick is simple and has no extra options:

• git cherry-pick --abort: Stops the cherry-pick and resets your branch to the previous state before the cherry-pick began.

bash

git cherry-pick --abort

Example

This example shows how to start a cherry pick and then abort it if you decide not to keep the changes.

bash

git cherry-pick abc1234
# Suppose a conflict occurs or you change your mind

git cherry-pick --abort

Output

error: could not apply abc1234... Commit message
hint: after resolving the conflicts, mark the corrected paths
hint: with 'git add <paths>' or 'git rm <paths>'

# After running git cherry-pick --abort
# Your branch is reset to the state before cherry-pick started

Common Pitfalls

Sometimes users try to use git reset or git checkout to undo a cherry pick, but this can cause confusion or lose work.

Also, git cherry-pick --abort only works if the cherry-pick is in progress (e.g., during conflicts). If the cherry-pick finished successfully, you cannot abort it.

bash

git reset --hard HEAD~1  # This forcibly removes the last commit but can lose changes

# Correct way during conflict:
git cherry-pick --abort

Quick Reference

Remember these tips when aborting a cherry pick:

• Use git cherry-pick --abort only during an active cherry-pick conflict.
• Do not use --abort after the cherry-pick completes successfully.
• Always check your working directory status with git status before aborting.

Key Takeaways

Use git cherry-pick --abort to cancel an ongoing cherry-pick and restore your branch.

Abort only works if the cherry-pick is in progress and has conflicts or is paused.

Avoid using git reset to undo cherry-pick as it can cause data loss.

Check your git status before aborting to understand the current state.

Once a cherry-pick finishes successfully, you cannot abort it; use revert instead.