We are currently running off two active branches in our git repository. And by accident I just committed an update on the wrong branch and pushed it. Luckily, getting out of this mess isn't hard.
The erroneous commit is 65c356c8c
First, lets pull the commit from Branch1 into Branch2 where it should be...
git checkout Branch2
git cherry-pick 65c356c8c
This pulls the commit across into the correct branch. Great. We can now push the commit is normal. But what about the commit still sitting on Branch1 in my local index? Lets fix that now.
git checkout Branch1
git reset --hard HEAD~1
This will reverse the last commit.
As with all git issues, the secret is to not panic. Jump on the net and find a simple solution.
Top comments (17)
The fact that Git allows you to edit history is one of the biggest issues with Git - if you make a mistake, don't try to hide it, but actually fix it - reverse commit and push. No need for
push -f(every time you do that, you should think you are doing something incredibly wrong) and potentially ruining other people's ability to sync with the repository as well.After fixing the branch, you can of course continue to cherry pick the commit to your other branch.
I completely agree. I think this is a better solution than my post. Let me run this past you...
First I can get the commit into the correct branch with:
git checkout Branch2
git cherry-pick 65c356c8c
I then undo the other commit with:
git checkout Branch1
git revert 65c356c8c
Is that your suggestion?
Well your #1 priority should be to fix what you broke. Since
revertdoes not remove the commit, you don't need to hurry with "saving it" or anything - first revert and push to fix what you broke, then you can go about cherry-picking it to where you needed the code in.Force pushing is absolutely fine in case of personal feature branches.
No it's not. We also have this rule, and I so do it. But it's not "absolutely fine".
A reviewer might already have checked your branch before. And by changing your history, you remove the option for them to only review your latest changes.
The entire review must now be done all over.
Comments that were bound to a specific commit, are now gone as well.
Agreed. That's why I said "personal" feature branch, before it's touched or reviewed by anybody else.
Then again, I don't mind a force push to prevent commits like "oops forgot semicolon". Commits like that are pollution and won't help anybody in the future trying to look back in history. I usually remove them when a pull request is ready to be merged.
Comments are temporary anyway and no replacement for documentation.
After all it's about knowing what your doing. I prefer communication/education over arbitrary rules in my team.
In this case you will have to force push (push -f) your branch (Branch1). Force pushing a branch is generally not a good idea, unless you are absolutely sure that nobody else has pulled from that branch.
In this scenario revert is the safest choice to remove unwanted changes from a branch that's already been pushed.
Better use
git push --force-with-leaseto be sure you don't override your colleagues work if they pushed before you pushed force.More info :
Yeah. Its good to use
--force-with-leaseinstead of--force. Its also worth noting the case in which--force-with-leasemight not work as you expect it to.Quoting from –force considered harmful; understanding git’s –force-with-lease:
that's evil ! :)
Looks like you're playing with fire 🔥
Since you pushed the branch, be sure to communicate to all collaborators.
To be honest, I prefer to use
git revertso I don't have to delete anything from the historyAs others have already pointed out, if you use a remote repository, tread with care.
Also, don't forget to push Branch1 and Branch2 at the end :).
Thank you! I've read the discussion comments and I learned a lot from you :)
Adding to that, You can just cancel the commit and sustain the code by replacing (Hard with soft)