Depending on your needs, there are various ways you can use to roll back a Git repository to a previous commit. Here are some typical situations:
- Reverting a Commit (Creating a New Commit):
Use the git revert command to produce a new commit that reverses the changes made by a particular commit while maintaining a record of the prior one. Because it keeps the commit history intact, this is the safest approach.
git revert <commit-hash>
To undo a commit, substitute its SHA-1 hash for <commit-hash>. The changes made by the provided commit will be undone by this command, which will produce a new commit.
Note: You can give a commit range, such as git revert <start-commit>^..<end-commit>, where ^ denotes an exclusive range, if you wish to roll back several consecutive commits.
2. Branch Reset (May Include Discarding Commits):
Use the git reset command to change the branch pointer to a particular commit and remove all subsequent commits. This method will change the commit history, therefore proceed with caution as it may result in data loss.
Hard Reset (Deletes working directory modifications and commits):
git reset --hard <commit-hash>
Mixed Reset: This resets working directory changes while discarding commits.
git reset --mixed <commit-hash>
A soft reset preserves commits and working directory modifications while moving the branch pointer.
git reset --soft <commit-hash>
Substitute the SHA-1 hash of the desired reset commit.
3. Establishing a New Branch while Maintaining the Commit History:
The git branch and git checkout commands can be used to create a new branch that begins at a certain commit:
git branch new-branch-name <commit-hash> git checkout new-branch-name
Change <commit-hash> to the SHA-1 hash of the commit you want to start with and <new-branch-name> to the name you want for the new branch. The original commit history is preserved on a new branch using this method.
Make sure to create a backup or clone of your repository before utilising any of these techniques, particularly if you are working with important modifications or data that you wish to keep. Reverting changes may result in data loss, so approach cautiously and make sure you comprehend the ramifications of each technique before running any Git commands.
