Git: How to update/checkout a single file from remote origin master?

Question

The scenario:

I make some changes in a single file locally and run git add, git commit and git push

The file is pushed to the remote origin master repository

I have another local repository that is deployed via Capistrano with the "remote_cache" method from that remote repository

Now I don't want to deploy the whole application but just update/checkout that single file.

Please, is this somehow possible with git? I wasn't able to find anything that would work nor was I able to figure it out. With SVN I just did svn up file and voila.

I'll be glad for any help, thanks!

Answer 1

It can be done in the deployed repository: 

$ git fetch

The git fetch command will download all the recent changes, but it will not put it in your current checked out code (working area).

$ git checkout origin/master -- path/to/file

Then the checkout command will update the working tree with the particular file from the downloaded changes (origin/master).

You should also read Git Tutorial and further, enroll in Git Training to get a clear understanding of the concept.

Answer 2

To update/Checkout a single file from the remote origin master, Here is the below code:

git archive --format=zip --remote=ssh://<user>@<host>/repos/<repo name>  <tag or HEAD> <filename> > <output file name>.zip

Answer 3

In Git, you can download a single file in your repository without deploying the whole application. Here's how:

Fetch the Latest Changes:

Run git fetch origin to acquire the latest updates from your remote repository.

Checkout Single File:

Use the command below to checkout the selected file from the remote in the following way:

git checkout origin/master -- path/to/your/file

It then updates just that one file in your local repository similar to what SVN's svn up file does. You can now deploy the changes with Capistrano.