How to deal with a file getting added to a wrong commit in git?

Question

I have a past commit in my git history where I was working on a feature 'X' and committed a file accidentally which had nothing to do with this feature along with the other relevant files. Now I am working on the feature 'Y' which is actually related to the file which got committed earlier by mistake. How to deal with this scenario in the best way?

Accepted Answer

That's how I would have dealt with your problem:

Start an interactive rebase:

```
git rebase -i COMMIT-OF-FEAT-X^ # notice the ^ at the end
```

Then change pick to edit for the concerned commit. You would then be in (please suggest a better wording) that specific commit.

Remove the file from the commit:

```
git remove --cached wrong_file
```

That file would then be untracked.

Continue the rebase:

```
git rebase --continue
```

You're done.

You can now just switch to the feat-Y branch and add the file, commit it, or do whatever you want with it:

```
git co feat-Y
git add wrong_file
```

How to deal with a file getting added to a wrong commit in git?

Solution

Problem