Reset in Git
Git provides a powerful reset command that allows you to undo changes at different levels.
Scenario 1 - Undo Unstaged Changes
If you modified a file but haven’t added it to staging yet, you can revert it to its last committed state
git checkout -- filename
Scenario 2 - Undo Staged Changes
If you used git add but have’nt committed yet, you can unstage the changes.
git reset filename
To unstage everything
git reset
Scenario 3 - Undo last Commit (local)
Soft Reset (keep changes staged)
If you committed something by mistake but haven’t pushed yet.
git reset --soft HEAD~1 # HEAD~1 means One commit before HEAD
Mixed Reset (unstage changes, keep files)
git reset --mixed HEAD~1
Hard Reset (delete everything)
This deletes all changes and resets the repo to the last commit!
git reset --hard HEAD~1
Note - In order to reset a specific commit just use hash instead of HEAD~1
git reset --hard <commit-id>
Scenario 4 - Undo a Commit (After pushing to remote)
Revert the Commit (safe)
This creates a new commit that undoes previous commit.
git revert <commit-hash>
Hard Reset
Completely erases the commit from history
git reset --hard <commit-hash>
git push --force
Scenario 5 - Undo a Merge (If you merged the wrong branch)
If you haven’t pushed yet
git reset --hard HEAD~1
If You Already Pushed the Merge
A new commit is created that undoes the merge.
git revert -m 1 <merge-commit-hash>