From: Jeff King <peff@peff.net>
Date: Mon, 19 May 2014 16:01:07 GMT
Subject: Re: Any difference to unstage files using "git checkout" and "git rm"
Message-ID: <20140519160107.GE20289@sigill.intra.peff.net>
In-Reply-To: <6833494.47nikG189t@linux-wzza.site>

On Mon, May 19, 2014 at 09:12:47PM +0630, Arup Rakshit wrote:

> Is there any difference between the below 2 commands ? I didn't see anything.
> 
> git rm --cached  -- <file1> .. <fileN>

This one removes the index entries for those files.

> git checkout  -- <file1> .. <fileN>

This one checks out the content from the index into the working tree
(for just those files).

Try:

  # setup...
  git init
  echo content >file
  git add file
  git commit -m one

  # now rm
  git rm --cached -- file
  git status

which yields:

  rm 'file'

  On branch master
  Changes to be committed:
          deleted:    file
  
  Untracked files:
          file
  

but it we restore our state and try checkout:

  git reset
  git checkout -- file

nothing happens:

  On branch master
  nothing to commit, working directory clean

but if you had changes in the working tree:

  echo changes >file
  git status | sed 's/^/before> /'
  git checkout -- file
  git status | sed 's/^/ after> /'

you get:

  before> On branch master
  before> Changes not staged for commit:
  before>         modified:   file
  before> 
  before> no changes added to commit

   after> On branch master
   after> nothing to commit, working directory clean

Does that help?

-Peff