What is the correct way to restore a deleted file

Question

I deleted a file from a repo and now want to put it back. The best I can figure out is to:

• update to the revision before the delete
• copy the files elsewhere
• update to head
• copy the files back
• add them
• commit

That just smells bad and it looses all history to boot. There has got to be a better way to do this. I have already looked in The SVN Book but didn't find anything and am now looking down the SVN tag list.

Answer 1

You should be able to just check out the one file you want to restore. Try something like svn co svn://your_repos/path/to/file/you/want/to/restore@rev where rev is the last revision at which the file existed.

I had to do exactly this a little while ago and if I remember correctly, using the -r option to svn didn't work; I had to use the :rev syntax. (Although I might have remembered it backwards...)

Answer 2

The easiest way I have been able to restore files and not lose revision history is using SVN copy, the merge example above to me seems like a more complex way to achieve the same thing. Why is there a need to merge when you simply want to restore a revision?

I use the following in this instance and it works quite well.

svn copy -m 'restoring file' -r <rev_number_file_to_restore> http://from/file.cs http://pathTo/file.cs

I always seem to use svn copy as a server operation so not sure if it works with two working paths.

Answer 3

Use svn merge:

svn merge -c -[rev num that deleted the file] http://<path to repository>

So an example:

svn merge -c -12345 https://svn.mysite.com/svn/repo/project/trunk
             ^ The negative is important

For TortoiseSVN (I think...)

• Right click in Explorer, go to TortoiseSVN -> Merge...
• Make sure "Merge a range of revisions" is selected, click Next
• In the "Revision range to merge" textbox, specify the revision that removed the file
• Check the "Reverse merge" checkbox, click Next
• Click Merge

That is completely untested, however.

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Edited by OP: This works on my version of TortoiseSVN (the old kind without the next button)

• Go to the folder that stuff was delated from
• Right click in Explorer, go to TortoiseSVN -> Merge...
• in the From section enter the revision that did the delete
• in the To section enter the revision before the delete.
• Click "merge"
• commit

The trick is to merge backwards. Kudos to sean.bright for pointing me in the right direction!

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Edit: We are using different versions. The method I described worked perfectly with my version of TortoiseSVN.

Also of note is that if there were multiple changes in the commit you are reverse merging, you'll want to revert those other changes once the merge is done before you commit. If you don't, those extra changes will also be reversed.

Answer 4

I always seem to use svn copy as a server operation so not sure if it works with two working paths.

Here is an example of restoring a deleted file into a local working copy of the project:

svn copy https://repos/project/modules/module.js@3502 modules/module.js

While being inside the project directory. This works as well for restoring entire directories.

Answer 5

With Tortoise SVN:

If you haven't committed your changes yet, you can do a revert on the parent folder where you deleted the file or directory.

If you have already committed the deleted file, then you can use the repository browser, change to the revision where the file still existed and then use the command Copy to... from the context menu. Enter the path to your working copy as the target and the deleted file will be copied from the repository to your working copy.

Answer 6

The problem with doing an svn merge as suggested by Sean Bright is that is reintroduces other changes made in the same revision as the deletion. An svn copy is a more targeted operation that will only affect the deleted files.

Using Tortoise SVN you can resurrect a file that has been deleted from your working copy directory and from later SVN revisions, via a svn copy as follows:

• Browse to the working copy folder that previously contained the file.
• Right click on the folder in Explorer, go to TortoiseSVN -> Show log.
• Right click on the revision number just prior to the revision that deleted the file and select "Browse repository".
• Right click on the deleted file and select "Copy to working copy..." and save.

The deleted file will now be in the working copy folder. To re-add it back to SVN, right click on the restored file and select SVN Commit.

NB: This method will preserve the previous history of the restored file, however to see the prior history in the TortoiseSVN log you need to make sure "Stop on copy/rename" is unchecked in the Log messages dialog.