Reset & Force Push

Advanced operations for rewriting history. Use with caution.

Destructive Operations

Reset and force push can permanently lose commits. Only use these on branches that haven't been shared with others, or when you fully understand the consequences.

Understanding Reset

Reset moves your branch pointer to a different commit, effectively "undoing" commits.

Reset Types

Type	Working Directory	Staging Area	Use Case
Soft	Unchanged	Unchanged	Undo commit, keep changes staged
Mixed	Unchanged	Cleared	Undo commit, keep changes unstaged
Hard	Cleared	Cleared	Completely discard changes

Resetting in GitGUI

From the Commit Graph

1. Right-click on the commit you want to reset to
2. Select the reset option
3. Confirm the operation

What Happens

• Your branch moves to the selected commit
• Commits after that point are "removed" from the branch
• Changes may be preserved depending on reset type

Force Push

After resetting, your local branch differs from the remote. A normal push will fail. Force push overwrites the remote with your local version.

When to Force Push

• After resetting a branch
• After amending a commit
• After rebasing

Dangers of Force Push

• Overwrites remote history
• Can cause problems for collaborators
• May lose commits that only existed on remote

Safe Force Push Workflow

1. Communicate — Tell your team you're about to force push
2. Verify — Double-check you're on the right branch
3. Backup — Consider creating a backup branch first
4. Force push — Execute the operation
5. Verify — Check that the remote looks correct

Common Scenarios

Undo Last Commit (Keep Changes)

Scenario: You committed too early and want to add more changes

1. Reset (soft) to the previous commit
2. Your changes are still staged
3. Make additional changes
4. Commit again with a better message

Completely Undo Last Commit

Scenario: The last commit was a mistake

1. Reset (hard) to the previous commit
2. All changes from that commit are discarded
3. Force push if already pushed to remote

Fix a Commit Message

Scenario: Typo in commit message (not yet pushed)

1. The commit is only local
2. Reset (soft) to previous commit
3. Commit again with correct message

Sync with Remote After Reset

Scenario: You reset locally, now need to update remote

1. Verify your local branch is correct
2. Force push to overwrite remote
3. Notify team members to re-pull

Best Practices

Never Force Push to Shared Branches

• main, master, develop — Never force push
• Feature branches — Only if you're the sole contributor

Create Backup Branches

Before risky operations:

git branch backup-branch-name

Use --force-with-lease

Safer than regular force push — fails if someone else pushed:

git push --force-with-lease

Communicate with Your Team

If you must force push a shared branch:

1. Notify everyone first
2. Have them push their changes
3. Force push
4. Have them re-clone or reset their local branches

Recovery

Reflog to the Rescue

Git keeps a reflog of all branch movements. If you accidentally reset too far:

# See recent branch positions
git reflog

# Reset back to a previous position
git reset --hard HEAD@{2}

Backup Branches

If you created a backup branch, simply:

git checkout backup-branch
# or
git reset --hard backup-branch

When NOT to Use These

• ❌ On shared branches without coordination
• ❌ When you're unsure what will happen
• ❌ To hide mistakes (just make a new commit instead)
• ❌ On commits that are part of pull requests

Alternatives to Consider

Revert Instead of Reset

git revert creates a new commit that undoes changes, preserving history:

• Safer for shared branches
• Doesn't require force push
• History shows what happened

New Commits

Often, making a new commit to fix issues is simpler and safer than rewriting history.

Summary

Operation	Risk Level	When to Use
Soft Reset	Low	Redo a commit locally
Mixed Reset	Medium	Unstage and redo
Hard Reset	High	Discard changes completely
Force Push	High	After any local history rewrite

Next Steps

• Keyboard Shortcuts — Master the shortcuts
• The Commit Graph — Understand the visual history