Branch from a previous commit using Git

Question

If I have n commits, how can I branch from the n-3 commit?

I can see the hash of every commit.

Answer 1

You can create the branch via a hash:

git branch branchname <sha1-of-commit> 

Or by using a symbolic reference:

git branch branchname HEAD~3 

To checkout the branch when creating it, use

git checkout -b branchname <sha1-of-commit or HEAD~3> 

Answer 2

To do this on github.com:

1. Go to your project.
2. Click on the "Commits".
3. Click on the <> ("Browse the repository at this point in the history") on the commit you want to branch from.
4. Click on the "tree: xxxxxx" up in the upper left. Just below the language statistics bar, you'll get the option to "Find or Create Branch" (just type in a new branch name there)