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How can I undo my last git commit?

Posted on November 11, 2016

You run git commit only to realize you forgot to add a file or that you made a mistake. We all do it, but we can never remember how to undo it! What is the command to undo a git commit?

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Andrew SB

November 11, 2016

Accepted Answer

To undo your last commit and leave the previously committed changes unstaged, use the command:

git reset HEAD~

Personally, I like to keep this aliased to git uncommit for quick reference. To do so, add this to your git configuration:

~/.gitconfig

[alias]
	uncommit = "reset HEAD~"

If you’d like to undo the commit but leave the changes staged, run:

git reset --soft HEAD~

If you simply want to redo the commit message, there is no need to rest. You can change the message using:

git commit --amend

This can also be used to add changes to the previous commit. For example, to add a file that you forgot to include, run:

git add forgotten_file
git commit --amend

You’ll be given the opportunity to modify the commit message and the newly added file will be included.

To completely remove all traces of the last commit, nuke it from orbit with:

git reset --hard HEAD~1

To revert to a specific previous commit, losing all history between, use:

git reset --hard a731962

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