Git Reset Cheat Sheet: Soft vs Hard (With Example)

📘 Scenario Setup

You have the following Git commit history and some uncommitted changes:

1. A commit - "A code"
2. B commit - "B code"
3. C commit - "C code"
4. D commit - "D code"

--> Working directory has "E code" (uncommitted changes)

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🔁 git reset --soft <commit-B>

• What it does:
  • Moves the HEAD pointer back to commit B
  • Keeps your current working directory as is
  • C and D are removed from commit history but remain in your code
  • All changes (C, D, E) are staged (ready to be recommitted)

✅ Good for: Squashing commits or redoing commit history

🗂️ Result:

• E code, D code, C code = still in files and staged
• Git only shows A -> B in the commit log

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💣 git reset --hard <commit-B>

• What it does:
  • Moves the HEAD pointer back to commit B
  • Deletes all changes made after commit B from both the history and your code
  • Everything from C, D, and E will be wiped from disk

⚠️ Warning: This is destructive and not recoverable unless you use git reflog

🗂️ Result:

• Only A code and B code remain
• All changes after B are lost

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🧠 Summary Table

Reset Type	Do code C/D/E remain in files?	Do commits after B stay in history?
git reset --soft	✅ Yes	❌ No
git reset (default = --mixed)	✅ Yes (unstaged)	❌ No
git reset --hard	❌ No (code deleted)	❌ No

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💡 Pro Tip

• Use git log to find the commit hash you want to reset to
• Use git reflog if you need to recover accidentally lost commits after a --hard reset

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📌 Stay safe — commit often and back up before using --hard!

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Comments

[Nevo David]

So good - I've definitely nuked stuff with git reset before, and this makes it way clearer. Appreciate the real-world examples!

[Shifa]

Clear and super helpful breakdown of git reset types! The examples and summary table make it easy to understand.