How to Abort a Git Revert and Reset Your Branch

Have you ever started a git revert operation and realized midway through that it wasn't what you wanted? Or maybe you've committed something you need to completely undo? Let's explore how to handle these situations safely.

Aborting a Revert in Progress

If you've initiated a revert and want to cancel it before completing:

git revert --abort

This command cancels the revert operation and returns your repository to the state it was in before you started the revert. It's completely safe and won't lose any work.

When to use this:

• You realize the revert isn't necessary
• There are merge conflicts you don't want to deal with right now
• You started reverting the wrong commit

Using Reset to Undo Commits

When you need to completely remove recent commits from your branch history, git reset is your tool:

git reset --hard HEAD~1

This command does two things:

1. Moves your branch pointer back one commit (HEAD~1)
2. Updates your working directory to match that commit (--hard)

Breaking it down:

• HEAD~1 means "one commit before HEAD"
• --hard means "discard all changes in working directory and staging area"
• Use HEAD~2 for two commits back, HEAD~3 for three, etc.

Force Pushing After Reset

After resetting locally, your local branch is now behind the remote. You'll need to force push:

git push origin main --force-with-lease

Why --force-with-lease instead of --force?

--force-with-lease is safer because it checks that no one else has pushed to the remote branch since your last fetch. If someone has pushed, it will reject your push, preventing you from accidentally overwriting their work.

Complete Workflow Example

Here's the full sequence when you want to undo a revert attempt and reset instead:

# 1. Cancel the revert operation
git revert --abort

# 2. Reset your branch to the previous commit
git reset --hard HEAD~1

# 3. Force push to update the remote
git push origin main --force-with-lease

Important Warnings

⚠️ Before using git reset --hard:

• This permanently deletes uncommitted changes
• It rewrites history, which affects collaborators
• Only use on branches you own or coordinate with your team

⚠️ Before force pushing:

• Communicate with your team
• Make sure no one else is working on the branch
• Consider creating a backup branch first: git branch backup-branch

Safer Alternatives

If you're working on a shared branch, consider these alternatives:

Option 1: Create a new commit that undoes the changes

git revert <commit-hash>
# This creates a new commit instead of rewriting history

Option 2: Create a new branch from an earlier commit

git checkout -b fix-branch HEAD~1

Quick Reference

Command	What it does
git revert --abort	Cancel an in-progress revert
git reset --hard HEAD~1	Remove last commit and all changes
git reset --soft HEAD~1	Remove last commit, keep changes staged
git reset --mixed HEAD~1	Remove last commit, keep changes unstaged
git push --force-with-lease	Safely force push

Conclusion

Understanding when to abort a revert versus when to reset gives you powerful control over your Git history. Remember: with great power comes great responsibility. Always communicate with your team before rewriting shared history, and when in doubt, create a backup branch first.

Have you encountered situations where these commands saved the day? Share your experiences in the comments below!

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Happy coding! 🚀