git discard all local changes with code examples

Git is a powerful version control system that allows developers to track changes made to their code and collaborate with others on a project. However, sometimes you may need to discard all of the local changes you've made to a repository and revert back to the last committed version. In this article, we'll explain how to do that with some code examples.

The first step in discarding all local changes is to navigate to the local repository on your computer. This can be done through the command line or by using a Git GUI client like GitKraken or SourceTree.

Once you're in the local repository, the command you'll need to use is "git reset." The "git reset" command allows you to reset the state of your repository to a specific commit.

The basic syntax for the "git reset" command is as follows:

git reset [commit]

The commit parameter is optional, but if you leave it off, Git will reset to the last commit in the current branch.

To discard all local changes and revert to the last committed version, you'll want to use the "–hard" option. This option discards all changes in the working directory and resets the repository to the state of the specified commit.

git reset --hard HEAD

The above command discards all local changes and resets the repository to the last committed version.

It is important to note that this command will discard all changes in the working directory, so make sure to commit any changes you want to keep before running this command.

Additionally, if you want to discard changes in a specific file, you can use the command git checkout -- <file name>

In summary, git reset –hard HEAD is the command to discard all local changes and reset the repository to the last committed version. It discards all changes in the working directory, so make sure to commit any changes you want to keep before running this command. It is very useful when you made some unwanted changes and want to discard them and take the last committed version.

In addition to discarding local changes, there are a few other related Git commands that can be useful in different situations.

One such command is "git stash." The "git stash" command allows you to temporarily save your local changes without committing them. This can be useful if you need to switch to a different branch to work on something else, but don't want to commit your changes or lose them.

To stash your local changes, use the command:

git stash save "Your Stash Message"

This will save your changes to a new stash and give it a message that you can use to reference it later.

When you're ready to return to your stashed changes, you can use the command:

git stash apply <stash_name>

This will apply the changes from the specified stash to your working directory.

Another useful command is "git clean." The "git clean" command is used to remove untracked files from the working directory. This can be useful if you have files in your working directory that you don't want to track or that you want to delete.

To remove untracked files from your working directory, use the command:

git clean -f

This will remove all untracked files from your working directory.

It is important to note that this command is irreversible, so use it with caution.

In addition, "git revert" command can be used to undo a specific commit. It creates a new commit that undoes the changes of the previous commit.

git revert <commit-hash>

This is useful when you want to undo a specific change but keep a record of it in the repository's history.

In conclusion, Git offers a variety of commands that can help you manage changes in your repository. From discarding local changes using git reset --hard HEAD, to temporarily saving changes with git stash, removing untracked files with git clean and undoing specific commits with git revert. Understanding and utilizing these commands can make your workflow more efficient and streamlined.

Popular questions

1. What command do you use to discard all local changes in Git?
   Answer: git reset --hard HEAD

2. How do you save local changes without committing them in Git?
   Answer: git stash save "Your Stash Message"

3. What command do you use to remove untracked files from the working directory in Git?
   Answer: git clean -f

4. How do you apply changes from a specific stash in Git?
   Answer: git stash apply <stash_name>

5. How do you undo a specific commit in Git?
   Answer: git revert <commit-hash>

Tag

Reverting