title: How can I check out a particular version of one file in Git?
body: <p>How can I check out a particular version of one file in git?</p>
  
  <p>I found <a href="https://kerneltrap.org/mailarchive/git/2009/1/6/4608324/thread+git+checkout+a+file&amp;cd=6&amp;hl=en&amp;ct=clnk&amp;gl=us" rel="noreferrer">this mail on the mailing list</a>, which said:</p>
  
  <pre><code>$ git checkout HEAD~43 Makefile
  $ git reset Makefile
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>But I don't understand how to find out 'HEAD~43', if I do a <code>git log aFile</code>, how can I find out which 'HEAD~43' I should use?</p>
  
  <p>And why do I need to run <code>git reset</code> for that file? What does it do?</p>