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How to check out git tags

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# fetch tags
git fetch --tags
 
# list tags
git tag
 
# search
git tag -l <pattern>

Basic tag checkout

  • Git checkout tag: To checkout a tag, use the git checkout command followed by the tag name:

    git checkout <tag-name>

    This command switches your working directory to the state of the specified tag.

  • Git checkout a tag as new branch: If you want to make changes starting from a tag, it’s best to checkout the tag into a new branch:

    git checkout -b <new-branch-name> <tag-name>

Working with remote tags

  • Git checkout tag from remote: To checkout a tag that exists in the remote repository but not locally, first fetch the tags:

    git fetch --tags

    Then, checkout the tag using the git checkout <tag-name> command.

  • Git checkout remote tag as branch: After fetching tags, you can create a new branch from a remote tag similarly to how you would with a local tag:

    git checkout -b <branch-name> <tag-name>

Advanced tag operations

  • Git checkout latest tag: To checkout the most recent tag, first fetch the tags from remote:

    git fetch --tags

    Then find the latest tag with a combination of the git describe and git rev-list commands. You can save this tag to a local variable for use in the next step:

    latestTag=$(git describe --tags $(git rev-list --tags --max-count=1))

    Once you have the latest tag, check out as normal using the variable we just created:

    git checkout $latestTag

  • Git Checkout tagged Version/branch/commit: These operations are fundamentally similar, as they involve checking out a specific state identified by a tag. Use the git checkout <tag-name> command for a version or commit, and if you want to start a new branch from a tagged commit, use git checkout -b <new-branch-name> <tag-name>.

Handling issues and special cases

  • Git checkout tag without detached HEAD: When you checkout a tag directly, Git puts your repository in a “detached HEAD” state. To avoid this, checkout the tag into a new branch:

    git checkout -b <new-branch-name> <tag-name>

    For further reading on this state, please see the guide on resolving a detached HEAD state.

  • Git checkout tag not working: If you encounter issues checking out a tag, ensure the tag exists (git tag) and that you have fetched the latest tags from the remote repository (git fetch --tags).

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