restore vs reset vs revert

Updated

October 30, 2026

Restore, Reset, and Revert

After this page you can pick the undo that matches what is wrong and who else has the commit.

Three audiences

 uncommitted                    unpublished                     published
 working tree or index          only this clone has the hash    someone else may have it
 restore                        reset or amend                  revert

Situation	Command	Branch tip
Edited a tracked file, not staged	`git restore <file>`	stays
Staged too soon	`git restore --staged <file>`	stays
Last local commit should be redone	`git reset --soft HEAD~1`, then commit	parent; changes stay staged
Last local commit should be an unstaged edit	`git reset HEAD~1`	parent; changes stay in the worktree
Last local commit and its files should disappear	`git reset --hard HEAD~1`	parent; tracked files match the parent
Last local commit needs a new message or one more file	`git commit --amend`	new hash, same parent (chapter 6)
A shared commit should be undone	`git revert <hash>`	moves forward (chapter 10)

restore copies bytes. The branch name stays. reset with no path slides the branch name. revert adds a commit.

Amend and soft reset

Both replace an unpublished tip.

Amend keeps one commit at the tip: same parent, new hash. You are still one commit ahead of the parent. Chapter 6 is amend.

Soft reset takes the tip off the branch and leaves that tree staged. You can drop a file, split the change, or commit it again with an ordinary message. The previous page is that mode.

Revert goes forward

git revert writes a new commit whose patch is the inverse of an older one. The old hash stays reachable. Use it when the commit is on a shared main, or when you are unsure whether anyone fetched it. Chapter 10 includes un-merging with git revert -m 1.

 published:   A ← B ← C ← R      R undoes C; C is still reachable
 local only:  A ← B              reset moved main off C; C is in the reflog

A test you can apply

Ask where the hash lives.

In the working tree or the index only: restore.
On this branch, and you have not pushed it (or there is no remote yet): reset or amend.
On a forge, or a teammate has pulled: revert.

Chapter 11 is the force-push that follows a reset of something you already pushed. On shared main, revert.