hotfix-cherry-pick

name	hotfix-cherry-pick
description	Apply a fix from a feature branch already merged to main when main has advanced. Use `git cherry-pick` to port a fix commit without rebasing the entire branch.
compatibility	Git, shell access, main already ahead of the fix branch.
metadata	{"author":"happytodev","version":"1.0"}

Post-merge fix via cherry-pick

When a fix is committed on a feature branch after its merge into main, the fix is not in main. Use cherry-pick to port it without rebasing the entire branch.

When to use

• A branch has been merged into main
• A bug is discovered and fixed on the feature branch
• main has advanced (new merges, commits) since the initial merge
• The fix only concerns one or two atomic commits

Workflow

Progress:
- [ ] 1. Identify the fix commit(s)
- [ ] 2. Checkout updated main
- [ ] 3. Cherry-pick the commit(s)
- [ ] 4. Resolve conflicts if necessary
- [ ] 5. Test + push
- [ ] 6. Optional: merge the updated feature branch (for alignment)

Step 1 — Identify the fix

git log --all --oneline --grep="fix("
git log feat/my-branch --oneline -5

Step 2 — Cherry-pick

git checkout main
git pull origin main
git cherry-pick <commit-hash>

# In case of conflict:
git status                              # view conflicting files
# Resolve conflicts manually
git add <resolved-files>
git cherry-pick --continue

Step 3 — Typical conflicts

See the merge-conflict-resolver skill for resolution patterns.

Step 4 — Verification

vendor/bin/pest --parallel
git push origin main

Step 5 — Branch alignment (optional)

git checkout feat/my-branch
git merge main
git push origin feat/my-branch

Pitfalls (this repo)

• Do not cherry-pick merge commits (Merge branch …) — only content commits
• Fix commits are often in the CHANGELOG — do not forget to document them
• Verify the commit scope is correct (e.g. fix(comments): not feat(comments):)