Git, Part 3: Restore, Revert, and Reset Move Different Things

Part 1 named three layers: working tree, index, and commits on a branch. Part 2 showed how merge moves labels. Undo is not one button. After this post you should pick restore, revert, or reset by asking which layer you mean to change, and know what can be lost before you run the command.

This is Part 3 of a six-part series. Remotes, rebase, and team workflows come next. None of these commands is “safe” in the abstract—each one is safe for a specific intent when you understand what it touches.

Interactive Demo

Press Watch demo or step the controls. Watch which layer lights up: working tree, index, or branch tip. restore should pulse the file layer without adding a commit node. revert should add a new commit on top. reset --hard should slide the branch label backward and align the tree readout with the older tip.

Code

Throwaway repo on the same machine. Hashes will differ on yours; the layer behavior will not. Verified with Git 2.43.0.windows.1.

Restore working tree and unstaged index

$ git init -b main
Initialized empty Git repository in .../git-undo-demo/.git/

$ # note.txt contains "hello"
$ git add note.txt
$ git commit -m "Add note"
[main (root-commit) cd5b79b] Add note
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)

$ # edit note.txt to add a "wip" line without committing
$ git status --short
 M note.txt

$ git restore note.txt
$ git status --short
$ # clean: working tree matches index again

$ git add note.txt
$ git status --short
M  note.txt

$ git restore --staged note.txt
$ git status --short
 M note.txt

M (space then M) means unstaged edits. M means staged. restore --staged pulled the index back toward HEAD while the wip line stayed in the folder.

Revert creates a forward undo commit

$ git add note.txt
$ git commit -m "WIP line"
[main 3be37c4] WIP line
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)

$ git revert --no-edit HEAD
[main 8ad2792] Revert "WIP line"
 1 file changed, 1 deletion(-)

$ git log --oneline -3
8ad2792 Revert "WIP line"
3be37c4 WIP line
cd5b79b Add note

The middle commit still exists. 8ad2792 is the fix readers will clone. That is why revert is the polite tool on shared branches.

Reset soft, mixed, and hard

Continuing from 8ad2792 after the revert, reset --soft HEAD~1 drops the revert commit and leaves the WIP change staged at tip 3be37c4.

$ git reset --soft HEAD~1
$ git status --short
M  note.txt
$ git log --oneline -1
3be37c4 WIP line

$ git reset HEAD~1
Unstaged changes after reset:
M       note.txt
$ git log --oneline -1
cd5b79b Add note

After that --mixed step, the WIP line commit is no longer on the branch; the wip line remains unstaged in the working tree until you discard or recommit it. A fresh repo makes the same pattern easy to see without the revert detour:

$ git commit -m "WIP line"              # tip 3be37c4
$ git reset --soft HEAD~1
$ git log --oneline -1
cd5b79b Add note
$ git status --short
M  note.txt

--soft moved the tip to cd5b79b but kept the WIP change staged.

$ git -c core.autocrlf=false init -b main
$ git commit -m "Add note"              # dd4a058
$ git commit -m "Extend note"           # 3375b22

$ git reset --hard HEAD~1
HEAD is now at dd4a058 Add note

$ git reflog -3
dd4a058 HEAD@{0}: reset: moving to HEAD~1
3375b22 HEAD@{1}: commit: Extend note
dd4a058 HEAD@{2}: commit (initial): Add note

--hard moved main to dd4a058 and made the working tree match. Commit 3375b22 is not on the branch anymore, but reflog still names it. git switch -c recover 3375b22 (or git reset --hard 3375b22 if you truly want that tip back) reattaches a name before garbage collection forgets unreachable objects.

What you can lose with reset --hard: every uncommitted change in the working tree and index, plus easy access to commits no ref points at once reflog entries expire. What you usually keep for a while: commit ids recorded in git reflog, until they are pruned.

# Three layers: working tree, index, and commits
git status

# Edit the file (working tree only)
echo tweak >> readme.txt

# Discard working-tree edits
git restore readme.txt

# Stage into the index
git add readme.txt

# Unstage (index only)
git restore --staged readme.txt

# Record a snapshot (moves HEAD / branch tip)
git add readme.txt
git commit -m "Update readme"

# Undo a published commit with a new commit
git revert HEAD

# Move the branch tip; soft keeps the index staged
git reset --soft HEAD~1

# Mixed reset (default): tip back, index cleared, edits stay in WT
git reset HEAD~1