Git change branch when file of same name is present

As illustrated by commit a047faf (git 1.8.4.3+), you can also try:

git checkout xyz --

(Note: the error message will be clearer with Git 2.21, Q1 2019)

That would make clear that the xyz part is a branch or commit, while everything after -- must be a path (here no path is provided). See more here on the double-hyphen convention.

If you try without the '--', that might or might not work, as shown in "Why does git checkout <remote_branchname> not create new tracking branch?":

git checkout name does:

• if it's local branch or explicit remote branch, switch to it.
• if it's a tracked path, reset it
• if it's a remote branch, create a tracking branch and switch to it.

And its behavior isn't always the same. Hence the '--' to provide a clear disambiguation.

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Update August 2019, Git 2.23+

git checkout is too confusing and is replaced with:

• git switch: meaning git switch xyz will work even if you have a file xyz,
• git restore: meaning git restore xyz will work even if you have a branch xyz.

Plus, as I explain in "Why did my Git repo enter a detached HEAD state?", no more unexpected detached HEAD.

While VonC's solution works, I can never remember the syntax, so I typically use a more low-tech solution:

$ (cd somedir && git checkout my-branch)

Or, if you don't have any subdirectories:

$ (cd .git && git -C .. checkout my-branch)

It's easier to remember and it works ;-)