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Recovering Lost Commits: Git's Safety Net

You lost a commit. Don't panic. Git has your back. Understanding how to recover lost commits is understanding Git's safety net.

🎯 The Big Picture​

Git rarely loses commits permanently. Even if you reset, delete branches, or make mistakes, commits are usually recoverable. Reflog is your friend.

Think of it like this: Git is like a time machine with a log. Even if you travel back in time, the log remembers where you were.

Using Reflog​

View Reflog​

# See recent actions
git reflog

# Output shows commits, resets, checkouts
# abc1234 HEAD@{0}: commit: Latest commit
# def5678 HEAD@{1}: reset: moving to HEAD~1
# ghi9012 HEAD@{2}: commit: Previous commit

Recover from Reflog​

# Find the commit in reflog
git reflog

# Recover it
git checkout abc1234

# Or create branch from it
git checkout -b recovered-branch abc1234

Common Recovery Scenarios​

Scenario 1: Reset Too Far​

# You reset too far
git reset --hard HEAD~5

# Recover using reflog
git reflog
# Find the commit before reset
git reset --hard HEAD@{1}

Scenario 2: Deleted Branch​

# You deleted a branch
git branch -D feature/branch

# Recover using reflog
git reflog
# Find last commit on that branch
git checkout -b feature/branch abc1234

Scenario 3: Lost Uncommitted Changes​

# You lost uncommitted changes
# Check reflog for stash or commit
git reflog

# Or check fsck for dangling commits
git fsck --lost-found

My Take: Reflog Is Your Safety Net​

Reflog is Git's safety net. It remembers everything. Use it when you lose commits.

Key Takeaways​

  1. Reflog remembers - Git logs all actions
  2. Commits rarely lost - Usually recoverable
  3. Use reflog - To find lost commits
  4. Create branch - To recover safely
  5. Git is safe - Commits are hard to lose permanently

What's Next?​

You've learned about recovering lost commits. Review Rolling Back Changes for more recovery techniques.

Remember: Reflog is your safety net. Git rarely loses commits permanently.