6 git-reset - Reset current HEAD to the specified state
11 'git reset' [-q] [<tree-ish>] [--] <paths>...
12 'git reset' (--patch | -p) [<tree-ish>] [--] [<paths>...]
13 'git reset' [--soft | --mixed [-N] | --hard | --merge | --keep] [-q] [<commit>]
14 'git reset' [--stage | --work | --keep] [-q] [<commit>]
18 In the first and second form, copy entries from <tree-ish> to the index.
19 In the third form, set the current branch head (HEAD) to <commit>, optionally
20 modifying index and working tree to match. The <tree-ish>/<commit> defaults
23 'git reset' [-q] [<tree-ish>] [--] <paths>...::
24 This form resets the index entries for all <paths> to their
25 state at <tree-ish>. (It does not affect the working tree or
28 This means that `git reset <paths>` is the opposite of `git add
31 After running `git reset <paths>` to update the index entry, you can
32 use linkgit:git-checkout[1] to check the contents out of the index to
34 Alternatively, using linkgit:git-checkout[1] and specifying a commit, you
35 can copy the contents of a path out of a commit to the index and to the
36 working tree in one go.
38 'git reset' (--patch | -p) [<tree-ish>] [--] [<paths>...]::
39 Interactively select hunks in the difference between the index
40 and <tree-ish> (defaults to HEAD). The chosen hunks are applied
41 in reverse to the index.
43 This means that `git reset -p` is the opposite of `git add -p`, i.e.
44 you can use it to selectively reset hunks. See the ``Interactive Mode''
45 section of linkgit:git-add[1] to learn how to operate the `--patch` mode.
47 'git reset' [<mode>] [<commit>]::
48 This form resets the current branch head to <commit> and
49 possibly updates the index (resetting it to the tree of <commit>) and
50 the working tree depending on <mode>. If <mode> is omitted,
51 defaults to "--mixed". The <mode> must be one of the following:
55 Does not touch the index file or the working tree at all (but
56 resets the head to <commit>, just like all modes do). This leaves
57 all your changed files "Changes to be committed", as 'git status'
61 Resets the index but not the working tree (i.e., the changed files
62 are preserved but not marked for commit) and reports what has not
63 been updated. This is the default action.
65 If `-N` is specified, removed paths are marked as intent-to-add (see
69 Resets the index and working tree. Any changes to tracked files in the
70 working tree since <commit> are discarded.
73 Resets the index and updates the files in the working tree that are
74 different between <commit> and HEAD, but keeps those which are
75 different between the index and working tree (i.e. which have changes
76 which have not been added).
77 If a file that is different between <commit> and the index has unstaged
78 changes, reset is aborted.
80 In other words, --merge does something like a 'git read-tree -u -m <commit>',
81 but carries forward unmerged index entries.
84 Resets index entries and updates files in the working tree that are
85 different between <commit> and HEAD.
86 If a file that is different between <commit> and HEAD has local changes,
90 Reset the index, basically `--mixed`. `--no-stage` is the equivalent of
94 Resets the working tree, basically `--hard`.
97 If you want to undo a commit other than the latest on a branch,
98 linkgit:git-revert[1] is your friend.
106 Be quiet, only report errors.
116 $ git add frotz.c filfre.c
119 $ git pull git://info.example.com/ nitfol <4>
122 <1> You are happily working on something, and find the changes
123 in these files are in good order. You do not want to see them
124 when you run "git diff", because you plan to work on other files
125 and changes with these files are distracting.
126 <2> Somebody asks you to pull, and the changes sounds worthy of merging.
127 <3> However, you already dirtied the index (i.e. your index does
128 not match the HEAD commit). But you know the pull you are going
129 to make does not affect frotz.c or filfre.c, so you revert the
130 index changes for these two files. Your changes in working tree
132 <4> Then you can pull and merge, leaving frotz.c and filfre.c
133 changes still in the working tree.
135 Undo a commit and redo::
139 $ git reset --soft HEAD^ <1>
141 $ git commit -a -c ORIG_HEAD <3>
144 <1> This is most often done when you remembered what you
145 just committed is incomplete, or you misspelled your commit
146 message, or both. Leaves working tree as it was before "reset".
147 <2> Make corrections to working tree files.
148 <3> "reset" copies the old head to .git/ORIG_HEAD; redo the
149 commit by starting with its log message. If you do not need to
150 edit the message further, you can give -C option instead.
152 See also the --amend option to linkgit:git-commit[1].
154 Undo a commit, making it a topic branch::
157 $ git branch topic/wip <1>
158 $ git reset --hard HEAD~3 <2>
159 $ git checkout topic/wip <3>
162 <1> You have made some commits, but realize they were premature
163 to be in the "master" branch. You want to continue polishing
164 them in a topic branch, so create "topic/wip" branch off of the
166 <2> Rewind the master branch to get rid of those three commits.
167 <3> Switch to "topic/wip" branch and keep working.
169 Undo commits permanently::
173 $ git reset --hard HEAD~3 <1>
176 <1> The last three commits (HEAD, HEAD^, and HEAD~2) were bad
177 and you do not want to ever see them again. Do *not* do this if
178 you have already given these commits to somebody else. (See the
179 "RECOVERING FROM UPSTREAM REBASE" section in linkgit:git-rebase[1] for
180 the implications of doing so.)
182 Undo a merge or pull::
187 CONFLICT (content): Merge conflict in nitfol
188 Automatic merge failed; fix conflicts and then commit the result.
189 $ git reset --hard <2>
190 $ git pull . topic/branch <3>
191 Updating from 41223... to 13134...
193 $ git reset --hard ORIG_HEAD <4>
196 <1> Try to update from the upstream resulted in a lot of
197 conflicts; you were not ready to spend a lot of time merging
198 right now, so you decide to do that later.
199 <2> "pull" has not made merge commit, so "git reset --hard"
200 which is a synonym for "git reset --hard HEAD" clears the mess
201 from the index file and the working tree.
202 <3> Merge a topic branch into the current branch, which resulted
204 <4> But you decided that the topic branch is not ready for public
205 consumption yet. "pull" or "merge" always leaves the original
206 tip of the current branch in ORIG_HEAD, so resetting hard to it
207 brings your index file and the working tree back to that state,
208 and resets the tip of the branch to that commit.
210 Undo a merge or pull inside a dirty working tree::
215 Merge made by recursive.
216 nitfol | 20 +++++----
218 $ git reset --merge ORIG_HEAD <2>
221 <1> Even if you may have local modifications in your
222 working tree, you can safely say "git pull" when you know
223 that the change in the other branch does not overlap with
225 <2> After inspecting the result of the merge, you may find
226 that the change in the other branch is unsatisfactory. Running
227 "git reset --hard ORIG_HEAD" will let you go back to where you
228 were, but it will discard your local changes, which you do not
229 want. "git reset --merge" keeps your local changes.
232 Interrupted workflow::
234 Suppose you are interrupted by an urgent fix request while you
235 are in the middle of a large change. The files in your
236 working tree are not in any shape to be committed yet, but you
237 need to get to the other branch for a quick bugfix.
240 $ git checkout feature ;# you were working in "feature" branch and
241 $ work work work ;# got interrupted
242 $ git commit -a -m "snapshot WIP" <1>
243 $ git checkout master
245 $ git commit ;# commit with real log
246 $ git checkout feature
247 $ git reset --soft HEAD^ ;# go back to WIP state <2>
251 <1> This commit will get blown away so a throw-away log message is OK.
252 <2> This removes the 'WIP' commit from the commit history, and sets
253 your working tree to the state just before you made that snapshot.
254 <3> At this point the index file still has all the WIP changes you
255 committed as 'snapshot WIP'. This updates the index to show your
256 WIP files as uncommitted.
258 See also linkgit:git-stash[1].
260 Reset a single file in the index::
262 Suppose you have added a file to your index, but later decide you do not
263 want to add it to your commit. You can remove the file from the index
264 while keeping your changes with git reset.
267 $ git reset -- frotz.c <1>
268 $ git commit -m "Commit files in index" <2>
269 $ git add frotz.c <3>
272 <1> This removes the file from the index while keeping it in the working
274 <2> This commits all other changes in the index.
275 <3> Adds the file to the index again.
277 Keep changes in working tree while discarding some previous commits::
279 Suppose you are working on something and you commit it, and then you
280 continue working a bit more, but now you think that what you have in
281 your working tree should be in another branch that has nothing to do
282 with what you committed previously. You can start a new branch and
283 reset it while keeping the changes in your working tree.
287 $ git checkout -b branch1
291 $ git checkout -b branch2 <2>
292 $ git reset --keep start <3>
295 <1> This commits your first edits in branch1.
296 <2> In the ideal world, you could have realized that the earlier
297 commit did not belong to the new topic when you created and switched
298 to branch2 (i.e. "git checkout -b branch2 start"), but nobody is
300 <3> But you can use "reset --keep" to remove the unwanted commit after
301 you switched to "branch2".
307 The tables below show what happens when running:
310 git reset --option target
313 to reset the HEAD to another commit (`target`) with the different
314 reset options depending on the state of the files.
316 In these tables, A, B, C and D are some different states of a
317 file. For example, the first line of the first table means that if a
318 file is in state A in the working tree, in state B in the index, in
319 state C in HEAD and in state D in the target, then "git reset --soft
320 target" will leave the file in the working tree in state A and in the
321 index in state B. It resets (i.e. moves) the HEAD (i.e. the tip of
322 the current branch, if you are on one) to "target" (which has the file
325 working index HEAD target working index HEAD
326 ----------------------------------------------------
333 working index HEAD target working index HEAD
334 ----------------------------------------------------
341 working index HEAD target working index HEAD
342 ----------------------------------------------------
349 working index HEAD target working index HEAD
350 ----------------------------------------------------
357 working index HEAD target working index HEAD
358 ----------------------------------------------------
365 working index HEAD target working index HEAD
366 ----------------------------------------------------
373 "reset --merge" is meant to be used when resetting out of a conflicted
374 merge. Any mergy operation guarantees that the working tree file that is
375 involved in the merge does not have local change wrt the index before
376 it starts, and that it writes the result out to the working tree. So if
377 we see some difference between the index and the target and also
378 between the index and the working tree, then it means that we are not
379 resetting out from a state that a mergy operation left after failing
380 with a conflict. That is why we disallow --merge option in this case.
382 "reset --keep" is meant to be used when removing some of the last
383 commits in the current branch while keeping changes in the working
384 tree. If there could be conflicts between the changes in the commit we
385 want to remove and the changes in the working tree we want to keep,
386 the reset is disallowed. That's why it is disallowed if there are both
387 changes between the working tree and HEAD, and between HEAD and the
388 target. To be safe, it is also disallowed when there are unmerged
391 The following tables show what happens when there are unmerged
394 working index HEAD target working index HEAD
395 ----------------------------------------------------
396 X U A B --soft (disallowed)
402 working index HEAD target working index HEAD
403 ----------------------------------------------------
404 X U A A --soft (disallowed)
410 X means any state and U means an unmerged index.
414 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite