Git Revert vs Reset vs Restore

Also Known As

TL;DR

Explanation

git revert <hash>: creates a new commit that undoes the changes — safe for shared branches, preserves history. git reset HEAD~1: moves HEAD back, three modes — --soft (keep changes staged), --mixed (keep changes unstaged, default), --hard (discard changes entirely). git restore: undoes working directory or index changes without touching commit history. Rule: never use reset --hard on commits pushed to a shared branch — use revert instead. git reflog recovers from accidental hard resets.

Diagram

flowchart LR
    subgraph git revert - Safe
        C1[A] --> C2[B] --> C3[C - bug]
        C3 --> C4[Revert of C<br/>new commit]
        NOTE1[History preserved<br/>safe on shared branches]
    end
    subgraph git reset - Rewrites History
        D1[A] --> D2[B] --> D3[C - bug]
        D3 -.->|reset moves HEAD back| D2
        NOTE2[C removed from history<br/>dangerous if pushed]
    end
    style NOTE1 fill:#238636,color:#fff
    style NOTE2 fill:#f85149,color:#fff

Common Misconception

Why It Matters

Common Mistakes

• git reset --hard on a pushed branch — rewrites public history, breaks collaborators.
• git revert when you meant reset — revert on a local-only branch adds unnecessary noise.
• Not knowing that git restore --staged unstages without losing changes.
• Using reset to 'undo' a merge instead of git revert -m 1 <merge-hash>.

Code Examples

# Dangerous: reset on shared branch:
git reset --hard HEAD~3  # Removes 3 commits locally
git push --force         # Rewrites shared history
# Teammates: their local branches now diverge
# They must reset or face complex merges

# Safe: revert on shared branch:
git revert abc123      # Creates new 'undo' commit — history preserved
git push               # Safe — no history rewrite

# Local cleanup only (never pushed):
git reset --soft HEAD~1   # Undo commit, keep changes staged
git reset --mixed HEAD~1  # Undo commit, keep changes unstaged
git reset --hard HEAD~1   # Undo commit AND discard changes (careful!)

# Undo working directory changes:
git restore src/file.php  # Discard unstaged changes to one file
git restore --staged src/ # Unstage without losing changes

References

• ↗ https://git-scm.com/docs/git-revert

Tags

Related Terms