How to Revert a Git Commit?

In software development, mistakes happen, and there will be times when you need to undo changes in your Git repository. Reverting a Git commit is a common task that can be handled in several ways, depending on your needs and the state of your project. This article will guide you through the different methods to revert a Git commit, including using git revert and git reset.

Why Revert a Git Commit?

• Fix Mistakes: If a commit introduces a bug or an error, reverting it can help fix the issue.
• Undo Changes: If changes are no longer needed or were made accidentally, reverting can remove them from the history.
• Maintain History: Reverting commits keeps the project history intact, which is important for tracking changes and collaboration.

Reverting a Git Commit

Git provides an option to keep track of our project progress from revisiting older commits to mending our mistakes and undoing changes. It gives the user the option to review his/her work. The following commands perform similar functions.

Step 1: git log

Before reverting a Git Commit, first, check all the commits find the hashing of all the commits that we have done and select the targeted Commit that we want to revert using the below command

git log

Step 2: git revert

As the name suggests, this command is used to return some existing commits. This command introduces a new commit to reverse the effect of some previous faulty commit. This option does not move branch ref pointers to the faulty commit instead inverse the changes from that commit and create a new revert commit. In such a way, project history is maintained. But to execute this command your working tree should be clean.

git revert <commit_hash>

change your commit hash with the '<commit_hash>"

git revert options:

• -e or --edit: This option lets you edit the commit message prior to committing the revert. It is the default option.
• --no-edit: Using this option will not start committing the text editor.
• -n or --no-commit: Using this option add inverse changes to the staging index and working tree instead of making new commits.

git reset:

It resets the current head to the specified state. This git command is not commonly used to its restrictive use. It has three basic Options namely, --soft, --hard, and --mixed.

git rm:

This command is used to remove the tracked file from the index or from the working tree and git index. It cannot remove files just from the working directory. The files removed must be identical to those in the current head.

git rm options:

• (files) ...: It specifies the files to be removed. There can be an individual file or a list of files separated by a space character.
• -f or --force: It overrides up-to-date check to ensure files in the head matches those in the working directory and staging index.
• -n or --dry-run: It does not remove files but instead tells which files would be removed by executing the rm command.
• -r: This command allows recursive removal when the leading directory name is given.
• - -: This option can be used to separate command-line options from the list of files. It is useful when filenames might be mistaken for command-line options.
• -q --quiet: This option suppresses the output. It normally outputs one line for each removed file.
• --cached: This option is used only when we have to remove the file from the staging index. Working tree files will be left alone.

Conclusion

We have learned that git revert is a safer option to undo changes instead of deleting commit history. It creates a new commit that inverses the changes and git reset, on the other hand, it is a difficult option for undoing changes. The git rm is used to remove the file from the repository, so these are some of the most commonly used commands for undoing changes. Also to gain better control over the development process of any project it is important to know the reverting of a git commit and other git commands also.