Undoing Changes
Learn different ways to undo changes in Git
Undoing Changes
Git provides multiple ways to undo changes depending on where the changes are and what you want to achieve.
Undoing Working Directory Changes
Discard Changes in Specific Files
# Discard changes in one file
git checkout -- filename.js
# Discard changes in multiple files
git checkout -- file1.js file2.js
# Discard all changes
git checkout -- .
Using Git Restore (Git 2.23+)
# Restore specific file
git restore filename.js
# Restore all files
git restore .
Undoing Staged Changes
Unstage Files
# Unstage specific file
git reset HEAD filename.js
# Unstage all files
git reset HEAD
# Using git restore (Git 2.23+)
git restore --staged filename.js
Undoing Commits
Undo Last Commit (Keep Changes)
# Undo commit, keep changes staged
git reset --soft HEAD~1
# Undo commit, keep changes unstaged
git reset --mixed HEAD~1
# Undo commit, discard changes
git reset --hard HEAD~1
Undo Multiple Commits
# Undo last 3 commits
git reset --soft HEAD~3
# Reset to specific commit
git reset --hard commit-hash
Revert Commits (Safe for Public History)
# Revert last commit
git revert HEAD
# Revert specific commit
git revert commit-hash
# Revert merge commit
git revert -m 1 merge-commit-hash
Different Reset Types
Soft Reset
# Move HEAD, keep staging area and working directory
git reset --soft HEAD~1
Mixed Reset (Default)
# Move HEAD, reset staging area, keep working directory
git reset --mixed HEAD~1
git reset HEAD~1 # Same as above
Hard Reset
# Move HEAD, reset staging area and working directory
git reset --hard HEAD~1
Recovery from Mistakes
Recover from Hard Reset
# Use reflog to find lost commits
git reflog
git reset --hard HEAD@{2}
Recover Deleted Branch
# Find branch commit in reflog
git reflog
git checkout -b recovered-branch HEAD@{5}
Interactive Tools
Interactive Reset
# Reset specific files interactively
git reset -p
Interactive Checkout
# Checkout specific changes interactively
git checkout -p
Best Practices
- Use
git statusto understand current state - Always backup important changes
- Use
--softreset when you want to keep changes - Use
git revertfor public commits - Check
git reflogbefore major operations
Quick Reference
| Command | Working Dir | Staging Area | Commit History |
|---|---|---|---|
git checkout -- file | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
git reset HEAD file | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
git reset --soft HEAD~1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
git reset --mixed HEAD~1 | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
git reset --hard HEAD~1 | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
git revert HEAD | ✓ | ✓ | New commit |