How to Undo a Commit, Pull Remote Changes, and Reapply Your Work in Git
When working with Git, it’s common to encounter situations where you’ve made a local commit, but later realize you need to pull changes from the remote repository before reapplying your work. Here’s a step-by-step guide to achieve this smoothly.
Step 1: Undo the Last Local Commit
To undo the last local commit without losing your changes, use:
git reset --soft HEAD~1
This command undoes the last commit but keeps your changes staged for the next commit.
If you want to completely undo the commit and unstage the changes, use:
git reset HEAD~1
For cases where you want to discard the changes altogether:
git reset --hard HEAD~1
Warning: Using
--hard
will delete your changes permanently.
Step 2: Check Remote Origins
To see the configured remotes:
git remote -v
Ensure you know the correct remote you want to pull from (e.g., origin
). If you have multiple remotes, double-check which one is appropriate for your changes.
Step 3: Pull Changes from the Remote
To pull the latest changes from the correct remote and branch, run:
git pull <remote-name> <branch-name>
For example, if your remote is origin
and the branch is main
, use:
git pull origin main
If there are conflicts, Git will prompt you to resolve them manually. After resolving conflicts, stage the resolved files:
git add <file>
Then continue the merge process:
git commit
Step 4: Reapply Your Commit
Once you’ve pulled the changes and resolved any conflicts, reapply your changes. Since your changes were unstaged in Step 1, you can stage them again:
git add .
And then create the commit:
git commit -m "Your commit message"
Optional: Confirm Remote Setup
To confirm which remotes and branches are configured, use:
git branch -r
If you want to verify the branch’s remote tracking setup, check:
git branch -vv
To push your changes to the intended remote, run:
git push <remote-name> <branch-name>
Troubleshooting Tips
- Check the state of your working directory: Run
git status
to see which files are staged, unstaged, or untracked. - Verify branch tracking: Ensure you’re on the correct branch and that it’s tracking the expected remote.
- Resolve conflicts carefully: If conflicts arise during the pull, resolve them thoughtfully to avoid losing changes.
By following these steps, you can effectively manage your Git workflow, ensuring your local changes are synced with the remote repository while avoiding unnecessary headaches. This process is invaluable for collaborative environments where pulling and merging changes is a frequent requirement.
Do you have additional tips or a favorite Git trick? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments!