Git Reset

The git reset command moves your current branch (HEAD) to a different commit.

Depending on the option, it can also change which changes are staged or even delete changes from your working directory.

Use it to undo commits, unstage files, or clean up your history.

• git reset --soft <commit> - Move HEAD to commit, keep changes staged
• git reset --mixed <commit> - Move HEAD to commit, unstage changes (default)
• git reset --hard <commit> - Move HEAD to commit, discard all changes
• git reset <file> - Unstage a file
• git log --oneline - Show commit history

First, you need to find the commit you want to go back to.

Use git log --oneline to see a summary of your commit history:

Step 2: Move the repository back to that step:

After the previous chapter, we have a part in our commit history we could go back to.

Let's try and do that with reset .

First thing, we need to find the point we want to return to.

To do that, we need to go through the log .

To avoid the very long log list, we are going to use the --oneline option, which gives just one line per commit showing:

• The first seven characters of the commit hash - this is what we need to refer to in our reset command.
• the commit message

So let's find the point we want to reset to:

We want to return to the commit : 9a9add8 (origin/master) Added .gitignore , the last one before we started to mess with things.

git reset --soft <commit> moves HEAD to the specified commit, but keeps all your changes staged (in the index).

This is useful if you want to combine several commits into one, or just want to rewrite history but keep your work ready to commit.

All changes after 9a9add8 are now staged, ready for a new commit.

git reset --mixed <commit> (or just git reset <commit> ) moves HEAD to the specified commit and unstages any changes, but keeps them in your working directory.

This is the default option and is useful if you want to "undo" a commit but keep your changes for editing or recommitting.

All changes after 9a9add8 are now unstaged, but still in your files.

After running Git Reset, review your changes to make sure everything is as expected.

Use Git Reset with caution, as it can rewrite your commit history.

Make sure to communicate with your team before making changes to the remote repository.

If you encounter issues with Git Reset, try using git status to see the current state of your repository.

Be careful when using Git Reset, as it can delete changes and rewrite your commit history.

Make sure to use it only when necessary.