git reset: Usage, Options & Common CI Errors

git reset rewinds your branch to a commit and decides what happens to staged and working changes.

Reset is the main "undo commits" tool. The mode (--soft/--mixed/--hard) controls how much it touches.

What it does

git reset moves the current branch ref to a target commit. --soft keeps the index and working tree, --mixed (default) resets the index, --hard resets index and working tree, discarding changes.

Common usage

Terminal

git reset --soft HEAD~1     # undo commit, keep changes staged
git reset HEAD~1            # undo commit, unstage changes
git reset --hard origin/main  # match remote, discard local work
git reset HEAD file.txt    # unstage one file

Options

Flag	What it does
--soft	Move HEAD only; keep index and working tree
--mixed	Default: reset index, keep working tree
--hard	Reset index and working tree (destructive)
--merge / --keep	Reset but try to preserve local changes

Common errors in CI

--hard silently discards uncommitted work and there is no "error" - that is the danger. If you reset too far, recover with git reflog to find the prior HEAD and git reset --hard <sha> back to it. Note: reset does NOT remove untracked files; use git clean for those.

Related guides

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