Git prevents pushing after amending a commit

Question

Usually, I just run

git add file
git commit
git push

but if I amend the commit before pushing it (with git commit --amend), the next push fails with

hint: Updates were rejected because the tip of your current branch is behind
hint: its remote counterpart. Integrate the remote changes (e.g.
hint: 'git pull ...') before pushing again.
hint: See the 'Note about fast-forwards' in 'git push --help' for details.

How can I let git push the changes without merging branches? I only have one branch (master) and I'm the only person using this repo so why is it saying this?

git branch -a:

* master
  remotes/origin/HEAD -> origin/master
  remotes/origin/master

EDIT: Using gitk HEAD @{u}, I see that I have 2 branches, one with the original commit and another with the amended commit.

possible duplicate of [How do I push amended commit to the remote git repo?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/253055/how-do-i-push-amended-commit-to-the-remote-git-repo) — Deebster, Sep 03 '13 at 09:44
@Deebster The question you linked was about amending a commit already pushed to the remote, I'm amending a commit which hasn't been pushed yet. — kiri, Sep 03 '13 at 09:52
`I only have one branch (master) and I'm the only person using this repo` and `I see that I have 2 branches, one with the original commit and another with the amended commit.` Its conflicting, can you please explain what you exactly did — Sagar Sakre, Sep 03 '13 at 10:03
`git add file` `git commit -m "something"` `git commit -m "something else"` would work fine — Sagar Sakre, Sep 03 '13 at 10:04
@Sagar It looks like the amendment has been created as a new branch and the original commit is in `master`. I haven't made a new branch myself — kiri, Sep 03 '13 at 10:12
No amend wont create any branch. Whats the output of `git branch -a` ? — Sagar Sakre, Sep 03 '13 at 10:20
The problem appears to have fixed itself. I thank everyone who contributed for their time and effort. It was likely fixed by [this answer](http://stackoverflow.com/a/927386/2734389) — kiri, Sep 03 '13 at 10:31

Joey · Accepted Answer · 2014-11-21T13:29:57.650

73

This should only be the case if you're amending an already-pushed commit. Generally you should never do that as you're then modifying published history. In your case however, you should be able to get away with push -f, which will overwrite the remote commit with your amended revision.

edited Nov 21 '14 at 13:29

answered Sep 03 '13 at 09:44

Joey

316,376
76
642
652

1

Can't thank @joey enough, that was the exact reason why I wasted the last few minutes, and yes it did resolve the issue. – Robins Tharakan Aug 09 '17 at 10:46
3

BEWARE - if not used with caution `git push -f ` can overwrite your commit history. Leaving no way for you to revert commit if something goes wrong. – markroxor Mar 30 '18 at 18:36
@markroxor yes. don't must use -f command. Because overwrite all previous commits. This is destroyer. – doğukan Jan 11 '19 at 20:10
I also mistakenly ammend'ed after a push. @markroxor can you provide a workaround then, if -f is a bad solution? This would be extra helpful. – foob.ar Feb 15 '19 at 18:47
1

"Leaving no way for you to revert commit if something goes wrong." Find someone who has not pulled from remote. :/ – markroxor Feb 16 '19 at 05:07
@markroxor Or pull yourself again in some other location. – Meet Sinojia Aug 03 '20 at 18:53

Nils Werner · Answer 2 · 2016-11-08T09:18:06.947

27

Yup, you should not do that (pushing a commit, then changing it and trying to push it again).

Instead, you can roll back Git to your previous commit without changing the files, then creating a new commit:

git reset --mixed origin/master
git add .
git commit -m "This is a new commit for what I originally planned to be an amendmend"
git push origin master

this will create a new commit with the changes you were about to amend.

edited Nov 08 '16 at 09:18

answered Sep 03 '13 at 09:45

Nils Werner

28,291
6
62
82

But I've ran `git commit --amend` before running `git push` in the first place – kiri Sep 03 '13 at 09:47
1

was there any pushed commit in the remote, before you experienced the problem? – Stefano Falasca Sep 03 '13 at 09:48
thanks a lot. git pull was not working for me, but git reset --mixed origin/master got it working. – Sassy Llama Nov 08 '16 at 01:39
1

This should be the better answer. The accepted one can be destructive. This is better. Thank you. – foob.ar Feb 15 '19 at 18:49
if your organisation has modified your rights, then the best answer with -f might not work. So this answer was better in my case. – Brndn May 03 '20 at 18:40

score 8 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 03 '13 at 09:44

8

you amended the pulled commit as in

git pull origin master
git commit -a --amend -m "..."
git push

you can solve the issue by reverting the amended commit:

git reset --mixed origin/master

and then making it again as a full fledged commit

answered Sep 03 '13 at 09:44

Stefano Falasca

7,642
1
13
22

What do you mean? I've amended it before pushing the changes – kiri Sep 03 '13 at 09:44

Git prevents pushing after amending a commit

3 Answers3

Linked