Git: Undo last commit

How to undo the last commit#

"To err is human".

One day it might so happen that you committed a bunch of files, only to realize that one or more of these files should not have been a part of the commit.

What now?

Fret not, it is pretty easy to revert a commit.

To bring back the state of the repository to the state before your last commit (used in the context of add and commit combination), use these two commands:

$ git reset --soft HEAD~1
$ git reset HEAD .

This will undo both the latest commit and add commands. The last commit is undone by git reset --soft HEAD~1, while git reset HEAD . undoes the last add.

If you want to do away with everything related to the last commit, use this command:

$ git reset --hard HEAD~1

This will restore the repository and the file system to the second last commit. Meaning, if new files were created in the last commit, they will also be deleted.

Tip:

• --soft - undo commit but leave the files alone
• --hard - undo commit and delete the files too

Summary#

The last commit can be undone by a combination of git reset --soft HEAD~1 and git reset HEAD .. A more destructive approach is to use git reset --hard HEAD~1.

References#

1. Git - git-reset
2. Git - Reset Demystified