Git undo cheat sheet

Quick reference: most common options

Scenario	Command	Effect
Undo commit, keep changes unstaged	git reset HEAD~1	Moves commit back to working directory
Check previous commit history	git log --oneline	Print commit history
Return to an old commit	git switch -c new-branch-name abc1234	Create a new branch based on an old commit

Untracked Files

For files that have never been added to git

Scenario	Command	Effect
Remove single untracked file	rm filename.txt	Permanently deletes file
Remove all untracked files	git clean -f	Removes all untracked files
Remove untracked files & directories	git clean -fd	Removes untracked files and folders
Preview what will be cleaned	git clean -n	Shows what would be removed (dry run)

Modified/Unstaged Files

For files that have been changed but not yet git added

Scenario	Command	Effect
Discard changes to single file	git restore filename.txt	Reverts file to last committed version
Discard changes to all files	git restore .	Reverts all modified files
Discard changes (older syntax)	git checkout -- filename.txt	Same as restore (legacy command)

Warning

These commands permanently delete your uncommitted changes!

Added/Staged Files

For files that have been git added but not yet committed

Scenario	Command	Effect
Unstage single file	git restore --staged filename.txt	Moves file back to modified state
Unstage all files	git restore --staged .	Unstages all staged files
Unstage file (older syntax)	git reset filename.txt	Same as restore –staged
Unstage all (older syntax)	git reset	Unstages all files

Tip

Your changes are preserved, just moved back to unstaged state

Committed Changes

For files that have been committed to git history

Undo Last Commit

Scenario	Command	Effect
Undo commit, keep changes staged	git reset --soft HEAD~1	Moves commit back to staging area
Undo commit, keep changes unstaged	git reset HEAD~1	Moves commit back to working directory
Undo commit, discard changes	git reset --hard HEAD~1	Permanently deletes commit and changes

Undo Multiple Commits

Scenario	Command	Effect
Go back 3 commits (keep changes)	git reset HEAD~3	Moves 3 commits back to working directory
Go back to specific commit	git reset abc1234	Resets to commit with hash abc1234
Hard reset to specific commit	git reset --hard abc1234	Permanently deletes everything after abc1234

Safe Undoing (Recommended)

Scenario	Command	Effect
Revert specific commit	git revert abc1234	Creates new commit that undoes abc1234
Revert last commit	git revert HEAD	Creates new commit that undoes last commit
Revert merge commit	git revert -m 1 abc1234	Reverts a merge commit

Tip

Creates new commits instead of destroying history

🔍 Before You Undo: Check Your Status

Command	Purpose
git status	See current state of files
git diff	See exact changes in working directory
git diff --staged	See exact changes in staging area
git log --oneline	See recent commit history
git log --oneline -n 5	See last 5 commits
git show abc1234	See details of specific commit

Safety Tips

• Always check git status first - know what you’re undoing
• Use git stash to temporarily save work: git stash push -m "work in progress"
• Prefer git revert over git reset for shared repositories
• Test with --dry-run or -n when available (like git clean -n)
• Hard resets are dangerous - they permanently delete work
• Consider branching before experimenting: git checkout -b experiment

Emergency Recovery

Scenario	Command	Purpose
Find “lost” commits	git reflog	Shows history of HEAD movements
Recover from reflog	git checkout abc1234	Go back to a reflog entry
Create branch from reflog	git branch recovery abc1234	Save a reflog entry as new branch

Remember: Git rarely truly deletes anything immediately - git reflog is your friend!