DEV Community: Ishan Jarwal

Git Rebase vs Reset vs Revert | When to use What ?

Ishan Jarwal — Fri, 29 May 2026 12:54:04 +0000

The Scenario: "Oops, I Made a Messy Commit History"

Imagine you're working on a feature branch called feature/login-page. You’ve made a few commits, but now :

One of the commits has a bug.
Another commit has a wrong commit message.
Your commit history looks like a jumbled mess compared to main.

Time to clean it up! But… should you rebase, reset, or revert?

First, Let’s Understand the Core Idea of Each:

Command	What it Does	Safe for Shared Branches?
`rebase`	Rewrites commit history to make it linear and clean	No, unless used carefully
`reset`	Moves the HEAD and branch pointer to a different commit	No, dangerous on shared branches
`revert`	Creates a new commit that undoes a previous commit	Yes, safe to fix public history

1. Git Rebase : "Let’s Rewrite History Neatly"

What is it?

git rebase allows you to move or "replay" your commits onto another branch or rearrange them to make a clean, linear history.

When to Use?

You want to clean up messy commit history before merging.
You want to squash commits.
You want to change commit messages.

Example:

You have these commits in feature/login-page:

A — B — C — D  (feature/login-page)         
        ↑       
      Buggy commit (C)

You want to fix commit C and clean up the message in D.

Solution: Interactive Rebase

git rebase -i HEAD~3

You’ll see something like this:

pick abc123 B pick def456 C pick ghi789 D

You can now:

Change "pick" to "edit" for C to fix the bug.
Change "pick" to "reword" for D to fix the commit message.
Squash commits if needed.

Important:

This rewrites commit hashes.
If your branch is pushed and shared, rebasing can mess up others' history. Use with care!

2. Git Reset : "Let’s Go Back in Time (Dangerously Powerful)"

What is it?

git reset moves your branch pointer (HEAD) to a previous commit. It can unstage files, remove commits, or even delete code changes.

Types of Reset:

Command	What happens?
`git reset --soft`	Keeps your changes staged.
`git reset --mixed`	Unstages changes but keeps them in the working directory.
`git reset --hard`	Deletes your changes completely. Dangerous!

When to Use?

You made local commits you don’t want anymore.
You want to uncommit but keep the changes.

Example:

You made two useless commits on top of main and want to remove them.

A — B — C — D  (main)              
            ↑            
            Your branch (HEAD)

To undo D and C:

git reset --soft HEAD~2

Your changes are still there but unstaged (due to --soft flag).
If you want to kill the changes, do

git reset --hard HEAD~2

After that your git timeline will look like this :

A — B  (main)
    ↑            
    Your branch (HEAD)

Important:

Never reset a branch that is already pushed and shared with others.
Resetting can permanently lose work (especially --hard).

3. Git Revert : "The Safe Undo Button"

What is it?

git revert creates a new commit that undoes the changes of a previous commit. It preserves history.

When to Use?

You want to undo a bad commit in a shared branch.
You want to keep history intact but fix a mistake.

Example:

Commit C introduced a bug. But you’ve already pushed it to origin/main.

A — B — C — D  (main)           
             ↑            
            Bug lives here

You can revert C safely:

git revert <commit-hash-of-C>

Git will create a new commit :

A — B — C — D — E  (main)                    
                ↑                 
              "Revert C"

Important:

Safe for shared/public branches.
Doesn’t remove the commit but inverts its changes.

Quick Summary: When to Use What?

Command	Use When…
`git rebase`	You want to rewrite and clean history (local-only).
`git reset`	You want to remove commits or unstage changes locally.
`git revert`	You need to undo commits safely in shared branches.

Visual Cheat Sheet

"I messed up a commit and want to fix it before pushing" → Rebase / Reset (local only)
"I pushed a bad commit, now I need to undo it on remote" → Revert
"I made several ugly small commits, want to squash them" → Rebase -i

Final Tips

Never rebase or reset public history unless you know what you’re doing.
Use git log --oneline --graph to visualize the history before making changes.
Always backup your branch with git branch backup/my-branch before risky operations.

Learn Package Management on Arch Linux: pacman & yay

Ishan Jarwal — Fri, 29 May 2026 07:59:48 +0000

Part 1: Understanding `pacman`

pacman is the default package manager for Arch Linux. It directly interacts with the official repositories and handles installation, updates, and removal of software.

Basic Syntax

sudo pacman [options] [package_name]

Common pacman Commands

Task	Command	Description
Update package database and system	`sudo pacman -Syu`	Sync package list (`-Sy`) and upgrade all packages (`-u`).
Install a package	`sudo pacman -S <package>`	Installs package from official repo.
Remove a package	`sudo pacman -R <package>`	Removes a package (keeps dependencies).
Remove a package and its unused dependencies	`sudo pacman -Rns <package>`	Clean uninstall — removes package, configs, and dependencies.
Search for a package	`pacman -Ss <keyword>`	Search available packages.
List installed packages	`pacman -Q`	Shows all installed packages.
Show package info	`pacman -Qi <package>`	Displays metadata (version, size, dependencies).
Clean cache	`sudo pacman -Sc`	Removes old packages from cache.

Official Reference:

Pacman Manual - ArchWiki

🧹 Pro Tip

To free up space, remove unused dependencies and old cached packages:

sudo pacman -Rns $(pacman -Qdtq)
sudo pacman -Scc

Part 2: Using `yay` for AUR Packages

The Arch User Repository (AUR) contains community-maintained build scripts (PKGBUILDs) for software not in the official repositories.

yay (Yet Another Yaourt) is a lightweight, fast, and user-friendly AUR helper that automates the build and installation process.

Basic Syntax

yay [options] [package_name]

Common yay Commands

Task	Command	Description
Update everything (official + AUR)	`yay -Syu`	Sync and upgrade both official and AUR packages.
Install an AUR package	`yay -S <package>`	Automatically fetches, builds, and installs from AUR.
Search for AUR packages	`yay -Ss <keyword>`	Search both official and AUR repositories.
Remove a package	`yay -Rns <package>`	Same as pacman — removes package + unused dependencies.
Clean build cache	`yay -Sc`	Clean yay’s build directory.
List all AUR packages	`yay -Qm`	Shows all manually installed (AUR) packages.
Check for outdated AUR packages	`yay -Qua`	Lists AUR updates available.

💡 Tip: Unlike pacman, yay doesn’t need sudo for most operations until the build process actually installs system files — it will prompt automatically.

Official Reference:

Yay GitHub Repository

Flag Summary

Flag	Tool	Meaning
`-S`	pacman/yay	Install package(s)
`-R`	pacman/yay	Remove package(s)
`-Ss`	pacman/yay	Search package in repos
`-Qi`	pacman	Show package info
`-Qm`	yay	List manually installed (AUR) packages
`-Syu`	pacman/yay	Sync database and upgrade all packages
`-Rns`	pacman/yay	Remove package + dependencies + configs
`-Sc`	pacman/yay	Clean package cache
`-Qdtq`	pacman	List orphaned packages

A Comprehensive and Comfy Guide to Git.

Ishan Jarwal — Fri, 29 May 2026 07:47:15 +0000

Git is not just a tool; it’s a life-saver for developers. It helps you track changes, collaborate with others, and never lose your work. This guide is designed to be a comfy walkthrough of Git , not too heavy on jargon, but packed with useful knowledge.

A Tiny History of Git and Why You Should Care

Git was created by Linus Torvalds in 2005, the same genius who built Linux. It was born out of necessity when the Linux community needed a version control system that was fast, distributed, and free.

Today, Git powers everything from hobby projects to massive codebases like those at Google, Microsoft, and Facebook. Whether you're working on a personal website or contributing to open-source, Git is the industry standard.

Where is Git

Software Development (obviously!)
Documentation Projects
Collaborative Design Workflows
Versioning for Configuration Files

If it involves files that change over time, Git can manage it.

Key Git Terminologies

Repository (Repo)
A directory where your project's Git history is stored. It's like a folder, but smarter.
Staging Area
Think of this as a "waiting room" where changes sit before you officially save them in the project history.
Commit
A snapshot of your project at a specific point in time. This is how you save your work in Git.
Push
You "push" commits to a remote repository (like GitHub) so others can see your work.
Remote
A version of your project that's hosted on the internet or another network.

Setting Up Git for the First Time

Install Git
Download from git-scm.com
Configure Your Identity
Before you do anything, tell Git who you are. We do this by telling git what is our username and email

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "your.email@example.com"

Initialize a Git Repository Navigate to your project folder and run:

cd /path/to/your/project's/root
git init

This creates a .git folder in your project. If you don't know, folders starting with a "." are hidden folders so you might not see it in the folder tree. This is where the information about your codebase is saved.

Tracking Changes (Staging & Committing)

Check Project Status

git status

This shows which files have been changed, which are staged, and which are not. You will see something like this in your terminal.

Add Files to Staging Area

git add filename.txt

Or add everything:

git add .

This is one step before committing your changes. Note that the files added to the staging area are the only ones going to be committed. All other files will be "unstaged files"

Committing the Changes

git commit -m "Add feature X"

Git expects you to associate every commit with a message. After running this command, a snapshot of your staged changes will be saved as a "commit".

Viewing Commit History

git log

This shows all commits in your repo. Use q to exit log view.

The HEAD in Git points to the current snapshot (commit) you are working on. Think of it as "where you are" in your project history.

Understanding Branches

A branch in Git is like creating an alternate universe for your code where you can try out new features without disturbing the main project. I would call this the most amazing feature offered by Git. Think of it as you are working on a feature and committing the changes step by step.

Eg : Initialize Project -> create homepage -> add images -> change fonts . . .

But parallel to this workflow, you also want to create a new feature say "Authentication" in the same project and without disturbing the main flow.

When you first initialize your project, the default branch you work on is either "master" or "main"

Create a New Branch

git branch new-feature

Switch to That Branch

git checkout new-feature

Or Do Both in One Command

git checkout -b new-feature

List All Branches

git branch

Delete a Branch

git branch -d old-feature

You can learn more about "Merging Branches" from here. It is an advanced git concept, hence it will not be discussed here.

Push Your Code to GitHub

Till now, we have created our repo, some commits (our checkpoints) and also branches. But all of this resides in our local machine. If anything goes wrong your pc, all of your data will be lost. For this purpose we have "Github", a place where you can upload your code so that it stays safe.

Following theses steps you can do it easily.

Create a Github account and the repo.

First step is to create your github accout. Simply add your details, verify your account and your are good to go.
Now you can click the "Create New Repository" button, give it a name, make it public/private according to you and hit create.
Now your remote repository is created and we need to connect it to our local git project, to do that, follow these steps

Add Remote URL

git remote add origin https://github.com/yourusername/your-repo.git

here, origin is nothing but an alias for your remote repository, you can see all the aliases by this command

git remote -v

Push to Remote

git push -u origin main

This will "push" or upload our codebase to our remote repository. The "-u" flag tells Git to set the remote branch (origin/main) as the upstream (or default) branch for your local branch (main).

Congrats, your code is now safe on github.

Bonus Tips: Git in VSCode

If you prefer clicking buttons over typing commands, Visual Studio Code has an excellent Git GUI.

Must-have VSCode Git Extensions:

GitLens: Supercharge your Git experience.

Git Graph: Visualize your branches and commits.

GitHub Pull Requests and Issues: Manage PRs from within VSCode.

What's Next?

This guide covers the comfy essentials to get you started. In the next post, we'll explore advanced Git concepts like merge conflicts, rebasing, reverting commits, and more.

For now, get your hands dirty and start committing!

That's it! You're now Git-ready.

DEV Community: Ishan Jarwal

Git Rebase vs Reset vs Revert | When to use What ?

The Scenario: "Oops, I Made a Messy Commit History"

First, Let’s Understand the Core Idea of Each:

1. Git Rebase : "Let’s Rewrite History Neatly"

What is it?

When to Use?

Example:

Solution: Interactive Rebase

Important:

2. Git Reset : "Let’s Go Back in Time (Dangerously Powerful)"

What is it?

Types of Reset:

When to Use?

Example:

Important:

3. Git Revert : "The Safe Undo Button"

What is it?

When to Use?

Example:

Important:

Quick Summary: When to Use What?

Visual Cheat Sheet

Final Tips

Further Reading

Learn Package Management on Arch Linux: pacman & yay

Part 1: Understanding pacman

Basic Syntax

Common pacman Commands

🧹 Pro Tip

Part 2: Using yay for AUR Packages

Basic Syntax

Common yay Commands

Flag Summary

Further Reading:

A Comprehensive and Comfy Guide to Git.

A Tiny History of Git and Why You Should Care

Where is Git

Key Git Terminologies

Setting Up Git for the First Time

Tracking Changes (Staging & Committing)

Add Files to Staging Area

Committing the Changes

Viewing Commit History

Understanding Branches

Create a New Branch

Switch to That Branch

Or Do Both in One Command

List All Branches

Delete a Branch

Push Your Code to GitHub

Create a Github account and the repo.

Add Remote URL

Push to Remote

Bonus Tips: Git in VSCode

What's Next?

Part 1: Understanding `pacman`

Part 2: Using `yay` for AUR Packages