6 git-reset - Reset current HEAD to the specified state
11 'git reset' [-q] [<tree-ish>] [--] <pathspec>...
12 'git reset' [-q] [--pathspec-from-file=<file> [--pathspec-file-nul]] [<tree-ish>]
13 'git reset' (--patch | -p) [<tree-ish>] [--] [<pathspec>...]
14 'git reset' [--soft | --mixed [-N] | --hard | --merge | --keep] [-q] [<commit>]
18 In the first three forms, copy entries from `<tree-ish>` to the index.
19 In the last form, set the current branch head (`HEAD`) to `<commit>`,
20 optionally modifying index and working tree to match.
21 The `<tree-ish>`/`<commit>` defaults to `HEAD` in all forms.
23 'git reset' [-q] [<tree-ish>] [--] <pathspec>...::
24 'git reset' [-q] [--pathspec-from-file=<file> [--pathspec-file-nul]] [<tree-ish>]::
25 These forms reset the index entries for all paths that match the
26 `<pathspec>` to their state at `<tree-ish>`. (It does not affect
27 the working tree or the current branch.)
29 This means that `git reset <pathspec>` is the opposite of `git add
30 <pathspec>`. This command is equivalent to
31 `git restore [--source=<tree-ish>] --staged <pathspec>...`.
33 After running `git reset <pathspec>` to update the index entry, you can
34 use linkgit:git-restore[1] to check the contents out of the index to
35 the working tree. Alternatively, using linkgit:git-restore[1]
36 and specifying a commit with `--source`, you
37 can copy the contents of a path out of a commit to the index and to the
38 working tree in one go.
40 'git reset' (--patch | -p) [<tree-ish>] [--] [<pathspec>...]::
41 Interactively select hunks in the difference between the index
42 and `<tree-ish>` (defaults to `HEAD`). The chosen hunks are applied
43 in reverse to the index.
45 This means that `git reset -p` is the opposite of `git add -p`, i.e.
46 you can use it to selectively reset hunks. See the ``Interactive Mode''
47 section of linkgit:git-add[1] to learn how to operate the `--patch` mode.
49 'git reset' [<mode>] [<commit>]::
50 This form resets the current branch head to `<commit>` and
51 possibly updates the index (resetting it to the tree of `<commit>`) and
52 the working tree depending on `<mode>`. If `<mode>` is omitted,
53 defaults to `--mixed`. The `<mode>` must be one of the following:
57 Does not touch the index file or the working tree at all (but
58 resets the head to `<commit>`, just like all modes do). This leaves
59 all your changed files "Changes to be committed", as `git status`
63 Resets the index but not the working tree (i.e., the changed files
64 are preserved but not marked for commit) and reports what has not
65 been updated. This is the default action.
67 If `-N` is specified, removed paths are marked as intent-to-add (see
71 Resets the index and working tree. Any changes to tracked files in the
72 working tree since `<commit>` are discarded. Any untracked files or
73 directories in the way of writing any tracked files are simply deleted.
76 Resets the index and updates the files in the working tree that are
77 different between `<commit>` and `HEAD`, but keeps those which are
78 different between the index and working tree (i.e. which have changes
79 which have not been added).
80 If a file that is different between `<commit>` and the index has
81 unstaged changes, reset is aborted.
83 In other words, `--merge` does something like a `git read-tree -u -m <commit>`,
84 but carries forward unmerged index entries.
87 Resets index entries and updates files in the working tree that are
88 different between `<commit>` and `HEAD`.
89 If a file that is different between `<commit>` and `HEAD` has local
90 changes, reset is aborted.
92 --[no-]recurse-submodules::
93 When the working tree is updated, using --recurse-submodules will
94 also recursively reset the working tree of all active submodules
95 according to the commit recorded in the superproject, also setting
96 the submodules' HEAD to be detached at that commit.
99 See "Reset, restore and revert" in linkgit:git[1] for the differences
100 between the three commands.
108 Be quiet, only report errors.
112 Refresh the index after a mixed reset. Enabled by default.
114 --pathspec-from-file=<file>::
115 Pathspec is passed in `<file>` instead of commandline args. If
116 `<file>` is exactly `-` then standard input is used. Pathspec
117 elements are separated by LF or CR/LF. Pathspec elements can be
118 quoted as explained for the configuration variable `core.quotePath`
119 (see linkgit:git-config[1]). See also `--pathspec-file-nul` and
120 global `--literal-pathspecs`.
122 --pathspec-file-nul::
123 Only meaningful with `--pathspec-from-file`. Pathspec elements are
124 separated with NUL character and all other characters are taken
125 literally (including newlines and quotes).
128 Do not interpret any more arguments as options.
131 Limits the paths affected by the operation.
133 For more details, see the 'pathspec' entry in linkgit:gitglossary[7].
142 $ git add frotz.c filfre.c
145 $ git pull git://info.example.com/ nitfol <4>
148 <1> You are happily working on something, and find the changes
149 in these files are in good order. You do not want to see them
150 when you run `git diff`, because you plan to work on other files
151 and changes with these files are distracting.
152 <2> Somebody asks you to pull, and the changes sound worthy of merging.
153 <3> However, you already dirtied the index (i.e. your index does
154 not match the `HEAD` commit). But you know the pull you are going
155 to make does not affect `frotz.c` or `filfre.c`, so you revert the
156 index changes for these two files. Your changes in working tree
158 <4> Then you can pull and merge, leaving `frotz.c` and `filfre.c`
159 changes still in the working tree.
161 Undo a commit and redo::
165 $ git reset --soft HEAD^ <1>
167 $ git commit -a -c ORIG_HEAD <3>
170 <1> This is most often done when you remembered what you
171 just committed is incomplete, or you misspelled your commit
172 message, or both. Leaves working tree as it was before "reset".
173 <2> Make corrections to working tree files.
174 <3> "reset" copies the old head to `.git/ORIG_HEAD`; redo the
175 commit by starting with its log message. If you do not need to
176 edit the message further, you can give `-C` option instead.
178 See also the `--amend` option to linkgit:git-commit[1].
180 Undo a commit, making it a topic branch::
183 $ git branch topic/wip <1>
184 $ git reset --hard HEAD~3 <2>
185 $ git switch topic/wip <3>
188 <1> You have made some commits, but realize they were premature
189 to be in the `master` branch. You want to continue polishing
190 them in a topic branch, so create `topic/wip` branch off of the
192 <2> Rewind the master branch to get rid of those three commits.
193 <3> Switch to `topic/wip` branch and keep working.
195 Undo commits permanently::
199 $ git reset --hard HEAD~3 <1>
202 <1> The last three commits (`HEAD`, `HEAD^`, and `HEAD~2`) were bad
203 and you do not want to ever see them again. Do *not* do this if
204 you have already given these commits to somebody else. (See the
205 "RECOVERING FROM UPSTREAM REBASE" section in linkgit:git-rebase[1]
206 for the implications of doing so.)
208 Undo a merge or pull::
213 CONFLICT (content): Merge conflict in nitfol
214 Automatic merge failed; fix conflicts and then commit the result.
215 $ git reset --hard <2>
216 $ git pull . topic/branch <3>
217 Updating from 41223... to 13134...
219 $ git reset --hard ORIG_HEAD <4>
222 <1> Try to update from the upstream resulted in a lot of
223 conflicts; you were not ready to spend a lot of time merging
224 right now, so you decide to do that later.
225 <2> "pull" has not made merge commit, so `git reset --hard`
226 which is a synonym for `git reset --hard HEAD` clears the mess
227 from the index file and the working tree.
228 <3> Merge a topic branch into the current branch, which resulted
230 <4> But you decided that the topic branch is not ready for public
231 consumption yet. "pull" or "merge" always leaves the original
232 tip of the current branch in `ORIG_HEAD`, so resetting hard to it
233 brings your index file and the working tree back to that state,
234 and resets the tip of the branch to that commit.
236 Undo a merge or pull inside a dirty working tree::
241 Merge made by recursive.
242 nitfol | 20 +++++----
244 $ git reset --merge ORIG_HEAD <2>
247 <1> Even if you may have local modifications in your
248 working tree, you can safely say `git pull` when you know
249 that the change in the other branch does not overlap with
251 <2> After inspecting the result of the merge, you may find
252 that the change in the other branch is unsatisfactory. Running
253 `git reset --hard ORIG_HEAD` will let you go back to where you
254 were, but it will discard your local changes, which you do not
255 want. `git reset --merge` keeps your local changes.
258 Interrupted workflow::
260 Suppose you are interrupted by an urgent fix request while you
261 are in the middle of a large change. The files in your
262 working tree are not in any shape to be committed yet, but you
263 need to get to the other branch for a quick bugfix.
266 $ git switch feature ;# you were working in "feature" branch and
267 $ work work work ;# got interrupted
268 $ git commit -a -m "snapshot WIP" <1>
271 $ git commit ;# commit with real log
273 $ git reset --soft HEAD^ ;# go back to WIP state <2>
277 <1> This commit will get blown away so a throw-away log message is OK.
278 <2> This removes the 'WIP' commit from the commit history, and sets
279 your working tree to the state just before you made that snapshot.
280 <3> At this point the index file still has all the WIP changes you
281 committed as 'snapshot WIP'. This updates the index to show your
282 WIP files as uncommitted.
284 See also linkgit:git-stash[1].
286 Reset a single file in the index::
288 Suppose you have added a file to your index, but later decide you do not
289 want to add it to your commit. You can remove the file from the index
290 while keeping your changes with git reset.
293 $ git reset -- frotz.c <1>
294 $ git commit -m "Commit files in index" <2>
295 $ git add frotz.c <3>
298 <1> This removes the file from the index while keeping it in the working
300 <2> This commits all other changes in the index.
301 <3> Adds the file to the index again.
303 Keep changes in working tree while discarding some previous commits::
305 Suppose you are working on something and you commit it, and then you
306 continue working a bit more, but now you think that what you have in
307 your working tree should be in another branch that has nothing to do
308 with what you committed previously. You can start a new branch and
309 reset it while keeping the changes in your working tree.
313 $ git switch -c branch1
317 $ git switch -c branch2 <2>
318 $ git reset --keep start <3>
321 <1> This commits your first edits in `branch1`.
322 <2> In the ideal world, you could have realized that the earlier
323 commit did not belong to the new topic when you created and switched
324 to `branch2` (i.e. `git switch -c branch2 start`), but nobody is
326 <3> But you can use `reset --keep` to remove the unwanted commit after
327 you switched to `branch2`.
329 Split a commit apart into a sequence of commits::
331 Suppose that you have created lots of logically separate changes and committed
332 them together. Then, later you decide that it might be better to have each
333 logical chunk associated with its own commit. You can use git reset to rewind
334 history without changing the contents of your local files, and then successively
335 use `git add -p` to interactively select which hunks to include into each commit,
336 using `git commit -c` to pre-populate the commit message.
339 $ git reset -N HEAD^ <1>
341 $ git diff --cached <3>
342 $ git commit -c HEAD@{1} <4>
345 $ git diff --cached <7>
349 <1> First, reset the history back one commit so that we remove the original
350 commit, but leave the working tree with all the changes. The -N ensures
351 that any new files added with `HEAD` are still marked so that `git add -p`
353 <2> Next, we interactively select diff hunks to add using the `git add -p`
354 facility. This will ask you about each diff hunk in sequence and you can
355 use simple commands such as "yes, include this", "No don't include this"
356 or even the very powerful "edit" facility.
357 <3> Once satisfied with the hunks you want to include, you should verify what
358 has been prepared for the first commit by using `git diff --cached`. This
359 shows all the changes that have been moved into the index and are about
361 <4> Next, commit the changes stored in the index. The `-c` option specifies to
362 pre-populate the commit message from the original message that you started
363 with in the first commit. This is helpful to avoid retyping it. The
364 `HEAD@{1}` is a special notation for the commit that `HEAD` used to be at
365 prior to the original reset commit (1 change ago).
366 See linkgit:git-reflog[1] for more details. You may also use any other
367 valid commit reference.
368 <5> You can repeat steps 2-4 multiple times to break the original code into
369 any number of commits.
370 <6> Now you've split out many of the changes into their own commits, and might
371 no longer use the patch mode of `git add`, in order to select all remaining
373 <7> Once again, check to verify that you've included what you want to. You may
374 also wish to verify that git diff doesn't show any remaining changes to be
376 <8> And finally create the final commit.
382 The tables below show what happens when running:
385 git reset --option target
388 to reset the `HEAD` to another commit (`target`) with the different
389 reset options depending on the state of the files.
391 In these tables, `A`, `B`, `C` and `D` are some different states of a
392 file. For example, the first line of the first table means that if a
393 file is in state `A` in the working tree, in state `B` in the index, in
394 state `C` in `HEAD` and in state `D` in the target, then `git reset --soft
395 target` will leave the file in the working tree in state `A` and in the
396 index in state `B`. It resets (i.e. moves) the `HEAD` (i.e. the tip of
397 the current branch, if you are on one) to `target` (which has the file
401 working index HEAD target working index HEAD
402 ----------------------------------------------------
411 working index HEAD target working index HEAD
412 ----------------------------------------------------
421 working index HEAD target working index HEAD
422 ----------------------------------------------------
431 working index HEAD target working index HEAD
432 ----------------------------------------------------
441 working index HEAD target working index HEAD
442 ----------------------------------------------------
451 working index HEAD target working index HEAD
452 ----------------------------------------------------
460 `reset --merge` is meant to be used when resetting out of a conflicted
461 merge. Any mergy operation guarantees that the working tree file that is
462 involved in the merge does not have a local change with respect to the index
463 before it starts, and that it writes the result out to the working tree. So if
464 we see some difference between the index and the target and also
465 between the index and the working tree, then it means that we are not
466 resetting out from a state that a mergy operation left after failing
467 with a conflict. That is why we disallow `--merge` option in this case.
469 `reset --keep` is meant to be used when removing some of the last
470 commits in the current branch while keeping changes in the working
471 tree. If there could be conflicts between the changes in the commit we
472 want to remove and the changes in the working tree we want to keep,
473 the reset is disallowed. That's why it is disallowed if there are both
474 changes between the working tree and `HEAD`, and between `HEAD` and the
475 target. To be safe, it is also disallowed when there are unmerged
478 The following tables show what happens when there are unmerged
482 working index HEAD target working index HEAD
483 ----------------------------------------------------
484 X U A B --soft (disallowed)
492 working index HEAD target working index HEAD
493 ----------------------------------------------------
494 X U A A --soft (disallowed)
501 `X` means any state and `U` means an unmerged index.
505 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite