Reflog • GitHub & Git Foundations

Git tracks all of the revisions
that you make to your software.

But did you know that with reflog

it also tracks the revisions
to your revisions?

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Users of Git first discover

that every commit
they make in a repository

is a recorded snapshot in time
that shows how the code base is progressing,

but more advanced users of Git
discover that the reflog

is keeping track of commits that are made

as well as commits that are discarded.

This provides a rolling buffer of 30 days

in which you can recover
from any mistake,

including detrimental ones
with the git reset command,

the deletion of a branch,

or possibly a rebase gone awry.

(music) Git reset is specific to each and every branch.

You'll notice, if you chose to inspect,

that in the .git folder

there's a subdirectory called logs.

Beneath there is a file specific to every branch that you have on your local repository.

Each of those logs is keeping track of the changes that you make,

both forward and backwards in direction.

The user interface to this
is the git reflog command.

It outputs the most recent history.

A paging mechanism allows you to go through older entries

that have transpired on the branch that you're currently checked out to.

Once you've run git reflog for the first time

and seen the historical events
that displays on screen,

you wonder what you can do with those.

Simply grab one of the seven character hashes that are displayed

and use that as a potential candidate for restoring your code base.

git reset --hard
to that hash.

The current branch is now forcefully switched

back to that historical point.

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The linear history that git reflog provides

can be difficult to navigate.