How to Upgrade Your Core Code from CodeROG Without Losing Custom Changes (Using VS Code)

If you purchased code from CodeROG, customized it for your project, and now CodeROG has shipped a big update — don’t panic and don’t just paste the new files over your old ones. Here’s a simple, safe way to upgrade using VS Code’s built-in Git panel (the Source Control tab — the icon that looks like a branching line in the left sidebar).

The Problem

You have three versions of the code floating around:

1. The original CodeROG code you first purchased (let’s call it v3.6)
2. Your production code — the CodeROG v3.6 base plus all the changes you made
3. The new CodeROG update you just downloaded (v6)

If you just copy the new CodeROG files over your production folder, you’ll lose every change you made. If you manually try to redo your changes on top of v6, you’ll spend hours and probably miss something.

The Simple Fix: Use Git Branches (Mostly Point-and-Click)

Step 1: Turn your project into a git repo (one-time, needs the terminal)

Open your project in VS Code, open the terminal once (`Ctrl+“), and run:

git init
git add .
git commit -m "Original CodeROG code v3.6, unmodified"

Step 2: Create branches for each version

Everything from here happens by clicking the branch name in the bottom-left corner of VS Code:

• Click it → “Create new branch” → name it codeROG-v3.6. This is your clean, untouched original as delivered by CodeROG.
• Click it again → “Create new branch from…” → base it on codeROG-v3.6 → name it main. Copy your actual production files into the folder here (VS Code will show them as changes in the Source Control tab) → stage them with the + button → write a commit message like “My customizations” → click the checkmark to commit.
• Switch back to codeROG-v3.6 (bottom-left corner) → create another branch from it called codeROG-v6. Delete the old files and copy in the new v6 files from CodeROG → stage and commit them the same way (“CodeROG code v6, unmodified”).

You now have three clean snapshots to work from.

Step 3: See what YOU changed (optional but useful)

Right-click any file in the Explorer → if you have the free GitLens extension installed, choose “Compare with Branch” and pick codeROG-v3.6. This shows you exactly what you personally modified, file by file — good for a quick review before merging.

Step 4: Merge the new CodeROG update into your production branch

1. Switch to main (bottom-left corner).
2. Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P on Mac) → type “Git: Merge Branch” → hit Enter → select codeROG-v6.

VS Code merges everything it can automatically. If there’s no overlap, you’re done — skip to Step 6.

Step 5: Resolve conflicts (all clickable, no manual editing of symbols)

If your changes and CodeROG’s changes touched the same lines, the affected files show up in the Source Control tab with a warning icon. Open one and you’ll see color-coded blocks like:

• Current Change — yours
• Incoming Change — CodeROG’s new v6 code

Right above each block are clickable links:

• Accept Current Change (keep yours)
• Accept Incoming Change (take CodeROG’s)
• Accept Both Changes (keep both, then tidy up if needed)

For each one, ask:

• Did CodeROG fix a bug here? → Accept Incoming
• Is this purely my own feature/tweak? → Accept Current
• Do I need both? → Accept Both, then clean it up by hand

Once a file looks right, click the + next to it in Source Control to mark it resolved. When every conflicted file is staged, type a commit message (e.g. “Merged CodeROG v6 update”) and click the checkmark to finish the merge.

Step 6: Test everything before going live

Run your site/app locally and check that:

• Your customizations still work
• The new CodeROG v6 features work
• Nothing broke in between

Only push/deploy once everything checks out.

Bonus Tip: Make the Next CodeROG Update Easier

If possible, don’t edit CodeROG’s core files directly. Instead, put your changes in separate config files, plugins, or override files. That way future CodeROG updates barely touch your code at all, and merges stay small.

The Takeaway

Never overwrite blindly. Let git (through VS Code’s point-and-click interface) compare the three versions for you, and only make manual decisions where changes truly overlap. It takes a bit of setup the first time, but every future CodeROG update becomes fast and mostly click-through.