git: checkout files from another branch into current branch (don't switch HEAD to the other branch)

Question

I want to load a different version of the files that exist in another branch into my current branch.

git help checkout says:

DESCRIPTION
   Updates files in the working tree to match the version in the index or
   the specified tree. If no paths are given, git checkout will also
   update HEAD to set the specified branch as the current branch.

Is there a way to checkout all those files, but not update HEAD?

Answer 1

checkout by providing the current path, .:

git checkout other-branch-name -- .

This operation is similar to switching HEAD to another branch without checking out files, but just from the "other direction".

As @??? mentions, this overwrites any uncommitted changes. Remember to either stash or commit them somewhere first if needed.