Undoing Things in Git: restore, reset, revert and reflog

Git rarely loses work for good. Pick the right command for what you want to undo and where the change currently lives.

Discard uncommitted changes

git restore src/cart.js            # throw away edits to a file (careful: not recoverable)
git restore --staged src/cart.js   # unstage, keep the edits
git stash                          # set changes aside; bring back with git stash pop

Fix the last commit

git commit --amend -m "Better message"
git add forgotten-file.js && git commit --amend --no-edit

Only amend commits you haven't pushed (or that only you use).

Undo local commits with reset

git reset --soft HEAD~1    # undo the commit, keep changes staged
git reset HEAD~1           # undo the commit, keep changes unstaged (default --mixed)
git reset --hard HEAD~1    # undo the commit AND discard its changes

Undo pushed commits with revert

git revert 3f2a1c4         # creates a new commit that reverses 3f2a1c4
git revert -m 1 9d8c7b6    # revert a merge commit (keep parent 1's side)

revert doesn't rewrite history, so it's the safe choice for anything already shared.

Recover "lost" work with reflog

The reflog records every position HEAD has been at, including commits you reset away or branches you deleted:

git reflog
# a1b2c3d HEAD@{0}: reset: moving to HEAD~3
# 9f8e7d6 HEAD@{1}: commit: Add payment retries   <- the work you lost

git branch rescue 9f8e7d6    # get it back on a branch

Quick reference

• Edited a file by mistake: git restore <file>.
• Staged the wrong file: git restore --staged <file>.
• Bad last commit, not pushed: git commit --amend or git reset --soft HEAD~1.
• Bad commit already pushed: git revert <sha>.
• "I've lost everything": git reflog.