0x20Lesson 3 of 6

Inspect history and undo carefully

Use diffs and history to understand changes before choosing an undo command.

12 min 5-question quiz

By the end of this lesson you can

Choose a safe undo command based on whether a change is committed or shared.

Inspection comes before undoing. git log shows commits, git show explains one commit, and git diff compares versions. For an edit you have not committed, git restore can discard it. For a commit already shared with others, git revert adds a new commit that undoes it.

terminal · git

1git log --oneline --decorate -4
2git show a1b2c3d
3git diff HEAD~1..HEAD
4
5# Discard an unstaged edit to one file
6git restore README.md
7
8# Undo a published commit without rewriting history
9git revert a1b2c3d

Output

a1b2c3d (HEAD -> main) Clarify setup instructions
74cd912 Add install section

# git show and git diff display the selected changes
# git restore changes the working tree
# git revert creates a new commit

git restore can discard work, so inspect it first. git reset moves the current branch and has several modes; it can make commits unreachable. Avoid rewriting commits other people may already have based work on.

Key takeaways

Use git log, git show and git diff to inspect before acting.
git restore affects working-tree or staged files; check which form you need.
Prefer git revert for shared history because it does not remove existing commits.

Lesson quiz

5 questions · pass with 4 correct · up to 50 XP

Passing this quiz completes the lesson and keeps your streak going. Questions you miss come back in review sessions later.

Questions about this lesson

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