Git Rescue

I messed up my LAST COMMIT

What happened	Fix it with
Committed too early, want to undo but keep changes	git reset --soft HEAD~1
Committed to wrong branch, want to move commit	git reset --soft HEAD~1 then git stash and switch branches
Commit message has a typo	git commit --amend -m "Correct message"
Forgot to add a file to the commit	git add forgotten-file<br>git commit --amend --no-edit
Want to completely delete last commit (permanent!)	git reset --hard HEAD~1

I messed up STAGING (git add)

What happened	Fix it with
Added a file by accident	git reset HEAD file
Added multiple files, want to unstage one	git reset HEAD file-i-dont-want.js
Want to see what's staged before committing	git diff --staged
Unstage everything but keep changes	git reset

I messed up WORKING DIRECTORY (unstaged changes)

What happened	Fix it with
Edited a file and want to undo	git checkout -- file
Want to discard all local changes	git checkout -- .
Want to remove untracked files	git clean -fd
Want to undo changes in multiple specific files	git checkout -- file1.js file2.js

I messed up BRANCHES

What happened	Fix it with
Merged by accident	git reset --hard ORIG_HEAD
Want to move a commit to another branch	git log (copy hash)<br>Switch to target branch<br>git cherry-pick <hash>
Branch name is wrong	git branch -m new-name
Deleted a branch by accident	git reflog (find hash)<br>git checkout -b recovered-branch <hash>

Emergency: I REALLY messed up

What happened	Fix it with
Need to undo multiple commits	git reset --soft HEAD~3 (undo last 3 commits, keep changes)
Accidentally did git reset --hard	git reflog → find the commit hash → git reset --hard <hash>
Want to revert a pushed commit safely	git revert <commit-hash> (creates new commit that undoes it)

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One-Line Cheatsheet

Command	What it does	Safe?
git status	Shows what's happening	✅
git log --oneline	Shows commit history	✅
git diff	Shows unstaged changes	✅
git checkout -- file	Discard changes in file	⚠️
git reset HEAD file	Unstage file	✅
git reset --soft HEAD~1	Undo commit, keep changes staged	✅
git reset --hard HEAD~1	Delete last commit and changes	❌
git commit --amend	Fix last commit	⚠️
git clean -fd	Delete untracked files	❌

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Golden Rules

1. Always run git status first - it tells you what's going on
2. --hard is the nuclear option - it deletes things permanently
3. reflog is your time machine - if you really screw up, git reflog shows EVERYTHING you've done
4. When in doubt, git stash - temporarily saves your changes so you can try things safely

Pro tip: If you've already pushed to remote, avoid reset and use revert instead

git revert <bad-commit-hash>

This creates a new commit that undoes the bad one - safe for shared branches!