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ch08/l03

Recovery before reset

Create a save point before history repair.

git reflog 25 min read, 30 min lab operator

`git reflog` records where your branch and HEAD have been locally. `stash`, backup branches, and reflog are recovery tools. `reset --hard` discards work; it should never be a reflex.

In the field

A rebase went wrong and you need to return to the previous branch state.

Worked command

$ git branch backup-before-repair$ git reflog --date=local -n 8$ git reset --hard HEAD@{1}$ git log --oneline --graph -n 8
Anti-pattern

Do not reset hard before preserving a backup branch or stash when work may matter.

Safer pattern

Make a save point, inspect reflog, then repair.

Knowledge check

After a bad rebase, what does `git reflog` let you recover that `git log` on the branch will not show?

  • A Prior positions of HEAD and the branch, including commits no longer on any branch
  • B Uncommitted working-tree edits that were never staged
  • C Commits that exist only on the remote, not yet fetched
  • D The contents of files ignored by .gitignore
Show the answer

Correct: A. Prior positions of HEAD and the branch, including commits no longer on any branch

Why

Reflog records every local move of HEAD and the branch, so you can return to a pre-rebase state even when those commits are no longer reachable from the branch tip. It tracks committed positions only, not unstaged working-tree edits, which is why a backup branch or stash is still the first save point.

Practice checklist

  1. Create three commits in a disposable repo.
  2. Make a backup branch.
  3. Use reflog to identify a previous state.

Deliverable evidence

  • Backup branch name, reflog entry, and final graph.
Teaching diagramch08 · mental model
Where your work lives working tree edited files index staged commit / branch local history remote origin add -p commit push pull --ff-only git reflog local log of every HEAD move, even after reset save point before repair: backup branch / stash reset --hard discards work never a reflex

shows: The states work passes through (working tree, index, commit/branch, remote), the commands that move it between them, and reflog as the local-only save-point net that reset --hard can otherwise destroy.

does not prove: It does not prove your repository is recoverable: reflog only protects commits Git has actually recorded, so unstaged or untracked working-tree changes wiped by reset --hard are not in scope and stay gone.

Memorize this

Commit these to memory, then drill them until recall is automatic.

git refloggit stash pushbackup branchreset --hard

Reference

git stash pushgit rebase -igit log --oneline --graph
Recall practice · Failure -> diagnostic

cue A rebase went wrong; before repairing, you need to find the previous local HEAD position to return to.

show recall target

git reflog

See this drill type Practice recall in the app