How to checkout a Git tag - Rocketeers

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How to checkout a Git tag
=========================

### [\#Development](https://rocketee.rs/index.php/development)

Checking out a tag puts you in a detached HEAD state, which is fine for inspecting a release but not for committing. If you want to make changes, create a branch from the tag.

 Published by [Mark van Eijk](https://rocketee.rs/index.php/author/mark-van-eijk) on June 23, 2026 · 1 minute read

1. [Checkout a tag](#content-checkout-a-tag)
2. [You are now in detached HEAD](#content-you-are-now-in-detached-head)
3. [Make changes from a tag: create a branch](#content-make-changes-from-a-tag-create-a-branch)
4. [The tag is missing?](#content-the-tag-is-missing)

[\#](#content-checkout-a-tag "Permalink")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

```

[\#](#content-you-are-now-in-detached-head "Permalink")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.

[\#](#content-make-changes-from-a-tag-create-a-branch "Permalink")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

```

[\#](#content-the-tag-is-missing "Permalink")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

```

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