Undoing changes

Discard, unstage, reset or revert — and know which one is safe to share.

Beginner 13 min read Lesson 8 of 480 Challenge included

What you will be able to do

Discard working and staged changes
Undo a commit locally
Revert a pushed commit safely

Git has several undo tools because they act on different layers: the working tree, the staging area or history. Pick the one that matches what you want to keep.

undo.shTerminal

git status
git restore notes.md            # discard working changes
git restore --staged notes.md   # unstage, keep the edit
git reset --soft HEAD~1         # undo the commit, keep it staged
git revert a1b2c3d              # new commit that undoes a pushed one
git reflog                      # find commits after a reset

Command	What it changes	Safe on shared history
git restore `<file>`	Working tree file	Yes, local only
git restore --staged `<file>`	Staging area	Yes, local only
git reset --soft HEAD~1	Local commit pointer	No, rewrite only locally
git revert `<sha>`	Adds an inverse commit	Yes

Your turn

Undo the last commit, keep the work

Easy

Remove the most recent commit but keep its changes staged.

BASH · starter

# your command here

Check your understanding before moving on.

Knowledge checkQuestion 1

Which command safely undoes a commit that is already pushed?

Select an answer to continue

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Next: Stashing work

Lesson 8 of 480 · 0% of course