git restore 2.32: Will it fully replace git checkout and what are the remaining use‑cases?

Short answer

No, git restore will not fully replace git checkout. In Git 2.23, the project split checkout's overloaded behavior into two focused commands: git restore for working-tree/index restoration and git switch for branch operations. By Git 2.32, both are stable, but git checkout remains fully supported with no official deprecation or removal timeline.

What restore covers — and what it deliberately does not

git restore handles the file-restoration half of checkout's duties: restoring files from a commit (--source), unstaging staged changes (--staged), and discarding local modifications. It cannot switch branches. Branch switching maps to git switch, which is the modern replacement for the other half of checkout's behavior.

Checkout-only functionality that remains

Even with restore and switch available, checkout retains specific behaviors:

• git checkout <commit> -- <path> as a combined shorthand (though git restore --source covers the same ground).
• git checkout --orphan <branch> for orphan branch creation; git switch has no orphan equivalent.
• Legacy flags like --merge and --track have switch counterparts, but with subtly different defaults.
• Ambiguity handling: git switch refuses arguments that could be both a branch and a path, whereas git checkout often silently guessed.

Migration path for branch creation

For scripts using git checkout -b newbranch, the direct replacement is:

git switch -c newbranch

This preserves working-tree carry-over semantics. For scripts using git checkout -f to force-discard changes and switch branches, the migration is git switch -f combined with git restore for pure file resets. Detached-HEAD inspection (git checkout <commit>) maps to git switch --detach <commit>.

Verification

Before migrating automation, confirm the local Git version with git --version (2.23+). Test the workflow in a scratch repo: create changes, run git switch -c topic, modify files, then git restore --staged --worktree . and confirm the status matches the old git checkout -f behavior. Grep existing automation for checkout usage to inventory migration scope.

Recommendation

For new scripts, prefer git restore for file restoration and git switch for branch operations. Keep git checkout for orphan-branch use-cases and treat any claim of checkout's removal as unverified.