World 11: Rescue Center

I lost commits after reset

You will learn: how to bring commits back after a hard reset.

The problem

Oops. One git reset --hard HEAD~2, and two days of diary vanished. Breathe. This happens to everyone. Here’s the safe way out.

Try it

Day 2 and day 3 were commits. Can Git bring them back?

Watch

~/diary $ git reflog270a76e (HEAD -> main) HEAD@{0}: reset: moving to HEAD~2031ae57 HEAD@{1}: commit: Add day 3 entrybcf4670 HEAD@{2}: commit: Add day 2 entry270a76e (HEAD -> main) HEAD@{3}: commit: Add stylea8feb63 HEAD@{4}: commit: Add day 1 page6d3a9b1 HEAD@{5}: commit (initial): Add README

git reflog lists every move HEAD made. HEAD@{1} is where you were just before the reset.

Try it

Jump back to just before the reset.

Hint

Type git reset --hard HEAD@{1}, then press Enter.

Check

Put the rescue steps in order, first at the top.

First step at the top. Put these in order. Use the arrows, or drag.

git reflog: find the line before the reset
git log --oneline: check the commits are back
git reset --hard HEAD@{1}
git status: check nothing is uncommitted

Hint

--hard wipes uncommitted changes. So look before you jump.

You did it!

You can now bring commits back after a hard reset.

Go deeper (optional)

Extra careful? git branch rescue HEAD@{1} only puts a label on the lost commit. Nothing moves, nothing is wiped. Right after a reset, ORIG_HEAD also points where you were. Changes you never committed can’t come back. Commit often!