How to checkout a Git tag

1. Checkout a tag
2. You are now in detached HEAD
3. Make changes from a tag: create a branch
4. The tag is missing?

#Checkout a tag

A tag points at a specific commit, usually a release. Check it out by name:

git checkout v1.2.0

To be unambiguous (in case a branch and a tag share a name), use the full ref:

git checkout tags/v1.2.0

#You are now in detached HEAD

After checking out a tag, Git warns you that you are in a detached HEAD state. That means HEAD points directly at a commit instead of a branch. You can look around, build, and run the code, but any commits you make here are not on a branch and will be lost once you switch away.

#Make changes from a tag: create a branch

If you need to work from a tagged release, for example to patch an old version, create a branch from the tag:

git checkout -b hotfix-1.2.0 v1.2.0

The modern equivalent uses git switch:

git switch --detach v1.2.0      # just inspect
git switch -c hotfix-1.2.0 v1.2.0  # branch off the tag

#The tag is missing?

If git checkout v1.2.0 fails with pathspec ... did not match, your clone probably does not have the tag yet. Fetch tags from the remote:

git fetch --tags

List the tags you have to confirm the exact name:

git tag