Undoing Changes
Sometimes you need to undo changes in your Git repository. Git provides safe ways to revert, reset, or temporarily save changes.
1. Stash Changes
git stash
Description: Temporarily saves your unstaged and staged changes so you can work on something else.
- All changes are saved, and your working directory is clean.
To apply the saved changes back:
git stash pop
2. Reset Changes
git reset <file>
Description: Unstages a file that was added to the staging area.
- Does not delete changes from the file.
Example:
git add file1.txt
git reset file1.txt
- To unstage all files:
git reset
3. Discard Changes in a File
git checkout -- <file>
Description: Reverts the file to the last committed version, discarding any changes.
Example:
git checkout -- file1.txt
4. Revert a Commit
git revert `<commit-hash>`
Description: Creates a new commit that undoes the changes from a previous commit.
- Safe for commits that have already been pushed.
Example:
git revert `a1b2c3d`
- Git opens an editor to allow you to modify the revert commit message.
Summary of Undo Commands
| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
git stash | Save current changes temporarily |
git stash pop | Reapply stashed changes |
git reset <file> | Unstage a file |
git reset | Unstage all files |
git checkout -- <file> | Discard changes in a file and revert to last commit |
git revert <commit-hash> | Undo a commit by creating a new revert commit |
Next, you’ll learn about tags and remotes in the repository.