# git reflog: Usage, Options & Common CI Errors

> git reflog records where HEAD and branches have been, so you can recover lost commits. Reference for show, expire, and recovery after a bad reset.

Source: https://latchkey.dev/learn/command-reference/git-reflog  
Updated: 2026-06-25

git reflog is your safety net: a local log of every move HEAD has made.

When a reset or rebase loses commits, reflog still knows the old SHAs so you can get them back.

## What it does

git reflog shows the history of where HEAD (and other refs) have pointed, including states no longer reachable from any branch. It is local-only and not pushed.

## Common usage

```Terminal
git reflog
git reflog show main
# recover a lost commit:
git reset --hard HEAD@{2}
git checkout -b rescue <sha-from-reflog>
```

## Options

| Item | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| show <ref> | Show the reflog for a specific ref |
| HEAD@{n} | The state of HEAD n moves ago |
| expire | Prune old reflog entries |
| --date=iso | Show absolute timestamps |

## Common errors in CI

CI checkouts are usually fresh clones with little or no reflog, so reflog-based recovery is a local-developer tool, not a CI one. Note that git gc and reflog expiry (default 90 days) eventually drop unreachable entries.

## Using this in CI

CI checkouts are shallow and detached by default, which changes the answer this command gives you. Commands that read history, branch names, or tags need the checkout configured for it.

```.github/workflows/ci.yml
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
  with:
    fetch-depth: 0   # history, tags, and git describe all need this

- run: |
    git rev-parse --is-shallow-repository   # expect false
    git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD          # prints HEAD when detached
```

> `git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD` returns the literal string `HEAD` on a detached checkout rather than a branch name. On GitHub Actions read `github.ref_name` instead; the git command cannot know what it was checked out for.

## FAQ

### git reflog: Usage, Options & Common CI Errors?

When a reset or rebase loses commits, reflog still knows the old SHAs so you can get them back.

### What it does?

git reflog shows the history of where HEAD (and other refs) have pointed, including states no longer reachable from any branch. It is local-only and not pushed.

### Common errors in CI?

CI checkouts are usually fresh clones with little or no reflog, so reflog-based recovery is a local-developer tool, not a CI one. Note that git gc and reflog expiry (default 90 days) eventually drop unreachable entries.

---

Latchkey runs CI/CD that repairs its own failures. Agent entry points: https://latchkey.dev/agent.txt, https://latchkey.dev/openapi.json, https://latchkey.dev/llms.txt