Developers use Git revert commit to undo past errors with forward change. Essentially, developers use Git revert commit to undo past errors by creating an “equal but opposite” commit that neutralizes the effect of a specific commit or set of commits. Most of the time, if you’re working on a team, Git revert is the best command to fix a commit because it’s less likely to affect the work of your team members.
In this article we will cover how to reverse a commit in Git using the terminal, GitKraken Client and GitLens for VS Code. We’ll also take a look at the additional Git commands and workflows developers use to undo bugs and how to determine which command to use based on your use case.
How to perform a Git rollback commit using a terminal How to perform a Git rollback commit using the GitKraken client How to perform a Git rollback commit
using GitLens for code VS
Git Reset Git
Rebase Git Amend Git Revert
Multiple Commits Using GitKraken Client If you are rolling back more than
one commit
in
the GitKraken Client
,
You must revert them one at a time, and you must do so in order from newest to oldest. This will decrease the possibility of introducing a conflict.
Git Revert Commit Using
GitLens If you’re a VS Code user, GitLens
makes it easy to roll back commits.
To roll back a Git commit
using GitLens, do the following:
- Open your repository in VS Code
- In the sidebar, select Source Control
- COMMITS section
- Right-click the commit you want to revert
- Select the
Go to the
Revert Commit option
src=”https://www.gitkraken.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/gitlens-revert-commit-sidebar-1.png” alt=”” />
You can also access this option through the command palette by typing >GitLens: Git Revert or from the commit details quick selection menu.
Ready to give it a try? Install GitLens to stay organized and up to date with your tasks and projects.
Additional commands and workflows to undo a commit
Even the most diligent developers encounter errors from time to time when working with Git repositories. But the process of correcting these errors may differ depending on the circumstances of each case. Also, if you’re not careful about how you undo these mistakes, you could end up losing work or ruining the work of your team members.
Fortunately, Git offers several tools that allow you to undo errors introduced by a commit. As with any other toolbox, it is important to understand the purpose, benefits, and related risks of each tool before using them.
So let’s take a look at some other common Git commands that developers use to undo their bugs.
Quick undo using the GitKraken
client GitKraken
Client makes it easy to undo/
redo the following actions using the undo and redo buttons on the top toolbar:
- Checkout
- Confirm
- Delete Branch
- Delete Remove
- Remote Branch
- Reset branch to a commit
It’s important to note that the Undo button in the GitKraken Client will only undo your most recent Git action. Undoing anything after your most recent Git action will require the use of Git revert, Git reset or Git rebase.
Git Reset
While Git
revert uses forward switching to undo commits, the Git
reset operation is just the opposite.
Git reset is a way to go back in time to a particular commit and reset its active position to the chosen commit in a branch’s commit history.
However, just as depicted in science fiction movies, there are all sorts of side effects that can come from altering the course of history. For example, if you travel back to a confirmation with a reset, all the confirmations you passed may enter a hanging state where they exist, but nothing references them. Also, if you perform a “hard” reset, you may lose local work that was not backed up successfully.
If you need to perform revisions on a commit that is not your last commit, the best solution is to create a new commit by reverting the previous commit. As a Git best practice, you should avoid doing anything that requires forcing the push (and rewriting the history) of your main branch(es).
Are you still determined to perform a Git reset? Here’s a guide to help you reset Git with as few issues as possible.
Git
Overshoot
Now, suppose you want to
undo a Git commit by going back in time, but you don’t want to completely reset
the history.
Instead of abandoning confirmations after erroneous confirmation, you want to apply them again and deal with the impacts of your story changed confirmation by confirmation.
For those who want a little more manual control over the history review process, Git provides the interactive rebasement tool. With interactive overshoot, you are presented with a list of commits to a specific point in your branch history. From this point, you have several options for each commit
:
- Pick: You can keep the commit as it is
- in
- Squash: Merge
- one Reformulate: Change the confirmation message
the history Drop: Delete the confirmation from the history
the confirmation with the previous
Get step-by-step instructions on how to perform a Git overrun
.
Modify
Git
If you catch an error immediately after making it, you can quickly undo the error by using the Git Amend command. Maybe you forgot to organize a file in the last commit, or had a typo in the commit message, or even made mistakes in the code, but haven’t done anything else on top yet.
If you want to modify the last commit to
your history, you have the ability to modify the Git commit with changes. For example, you can modify the previous commit by changing the Git commit message or description, or you can even organize a file you forgot to include.
Similarly, if there is an error in the code of your previous confirmation, you can fix the error and even add more changes before modifying it. Git amend is a one-time commit undo tool that only affects the last commit in the branch history.
As with Git reset and Git overrun, modification is a process of rewriting history, or a reverse change, rather than a forward shift. Under the hood, Git amend creates a new commit and replaces your last commit with the new one. Therefore, you should receive the same level of caution; Once you’ve inserted a commit into a shared branch, modifying that commit and pushing the modified change can cause side effects for anyone working outside of that commit.
The Best Way
to Change the Future
Undoing Git commits looks a lot like modern representations of time travel, with each Git command allowing you to change and affect history in a unique way. It’s up to you to determine which command fits your use case and apply it from there. Happy traveling!
Let’s make a final summary.
Git
Revert
- does NOT rewrite repository history
- Neutralizes the effects of
- use to “undo” a command when working with collaborators
a specified commit or commits Usually the best command to
Reset Git
- Resets its active position to the chosen commit Potentially delete all commits that came after
- Requires you to use a
- Can cause problems for your teammates
forced Git push
Git Rebase
- Essentially moves commits and keeps some of your commit history
- With the interactive rebase tool, you can manually select what you want to do with each commit, including choosing, dropping, crushing, reformulating the Git
Amend “
History Rewrite
” command
- It can only
- performed on your last
- It can be used to change a confirmation message, add a file, adjust the code, etc.
be
confirmation
