Git Reset Cheat Sheet

Git reset — soft, mixed, and hard reset explained. Undo commits, manipulate staging area, and understand the danger levels of each mode.

Last Updated: May 1, 2025

Reset Modes

Mode	HEAD	Index (Staging)	Working Directory	Safe?
--soft	Moves	Unchanged	Unchanged	Very safe — changes stay staged
--mixed (default)	Moves	Reset to HEAD	Unchanged	Safe — changes become unstaged
--hard	Moves	Reset to HEAD	Reset to HEAD	Dangerous — all changes lost!
--merge	Moves	Resets merged files	Keeps unmerged	Safer than --hard
--keep	Moves	Unchanged	Reset files with changes	Aborts if local changes exist

git reset HEAD~1

Mixed: undo last commit, keep changes unstaged

git reset --soft HEAD~1

Soft: undo last commit, keep changes staged

git reset --hard HEAD~1

Hard: undo last commit AND discard all changes

git reset HEAD file

Unstage a specific file (keep changes)

git reset -- file

Alternative: unstage file (keep changes)

git reset --soft origin/main

Undo all local commits, keep work staged

git reset --hard origin/main

Reset to remote state — discard ALL local work

git reset --soft HEAD~3 && git commit

Squash last 3 commits into one

Item	Description
`--soft`	Undo commits but keep all changes staged — ready to re-commit
`--mixed`	Undo commits, put changes back in working tree for re-staging
`--hard`	Nuclear option — complete reset to a known state. Reflog is your backup
`HEAD~N`	Reset back N commits; combine with mode flags
`File-Level Reset`	git reset file or git restore --staged file to unstage
`Remote Reset`	Reset local to match remote: git fetch && git reset --hard origin/main
`Squash Workflow`	Reset --soft followed by a new commit = manual squash
`Recover After Reset`	git reflog → find lost commit → git reset --hard HEAD@{n}

Item	Description
`reset vs revert`	Reset removes history; revert creates new undo commit (safer for shared branches)
`reset vs restore`	git restore discards working changes; reset moves HEAD
`reset vs checkout`	checkout switches branches; reset --hard with a file discards its changes
`reset vs clean`	git clean removes untracked files; reset works on tracked files
`--merge vs --hard`	--merge is safer — it won't delete unmerged changes

Pro Tip: Think twice before `git reset --hard`. There's no undo except reflog. Prefer `--soft` or `--mixed` when you might need the changes back.