how do get a clone of a commit from history github

Question

I want to clone, that is get all the files from a push 1 week ago onto my computer, I know the SHA, I just need a way to get those files onto a directory on my local machine. Is there a simple way to do this?

Answer 1

you just use the archive after you clone:

git archive <sha1 you want> | tar -x -C /some/path/to/save/to

if you want to actually work on the repository, checkout the commit:

git checkout <sha1 you want>

Just be careful as now you are not on any branch. You need a branch to push and pull and track your commits. So make a branch first and then check it out:

git branch mywork <the sha1 you want>
git checkout mywork

or in one line:

git checkout -b mybranch <sha1 you want>