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Syncing Specific Directories from Main

When working on a feature branch, you may need to get the latest updates for specific directories from the main branch without merging or rebasing your entire branch.

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When to Use This Approach

This approach is useful when:
  • You need the latest version of a specific app without updating your entire codebase
  • You want to pull in changes to the documentation or API while continuing to work on your feature
  • You need to update shared components without disrupting your current work

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How to Sync Specific Directories

To sync a specific directory from the main branch, use the following commands: 
# First, fetch the latest changes from the main branch
git fetch origin main

# Then, checkout just the directory you need from main
git checkout origin/main -- <directory-path>

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Available Directories to Sync

You can sync any of these app directories: 
# Sync docs
git checkout origin/main -- apps/docs

# Sync web app
git checkout origin/main -- apps/web

# Sync dashboard
git checkout origin/main -- apps/dashboard

# Sync API
git checkout origin/main -- apps/api

# Sync presentation
git checkout origin/main -- apps/presentation

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After Syncing

After syncing a directory, you should:
  1. Review the changes that were brought in
  2. Make sure your project still builds correctly
  3. Commit the changes to your branch
# Review the changes
git status

# Add and commit the changes
git add <directory-path>
git commit -m "Sync <directory-path> with main branch"

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Caution

Be careful when syncing directories that might have dependencies on other parts of the codebase. In some cases, you may need to sync multiple directories to maintain compatibility.

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Selectively Syncing Specific Files

You can be even more granular and sync only specific files rather than entire directories: 
# Sync a specific file
git checkout origin/main -- apps/web/components/Header.tsx

# Sync multiple specific files
git checkout origin/main -- apps/api/routes/users.ts apps/api/models/User.ts

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Excluding Specific Files When Syncing a Directory

If you want to sync a directory but exclude certain files, you can:
  1. First, sync the directory
  2. Then revert the specific files you don’t want to sync
# First sync the entire directory
git checkout origin/main -- apps/docs

# Then revert specific files you don't want to update
git checkout HEAD -- apps/docs/specific-file-to-exclude.mdx

# You can also revert multiple files at once
git checkout HEAD -- apps/docs/file1.mdx apps/docs/file2.mdx

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Using Git Add Interactive Mode

For more complex selections, you can use Git’s interactive add mode after syncing: 
# First sync the directory
git checkout origin/main -- apps/web

# Then use interactive mode to selectively stage only what you want
git add -i

# Or use patch mode to select specific chunks within files
git add -p
With the interactive mode, you’ll get a menu where you can:
  • Select specific files to stage
  • Review changes before staging
  • Split files into smaller chunks for selective staging
  • Revert specific parts of the sync
Written by Ricky Raveanu