How do I git-revert from the command line?

Question

When I do git revert via TortoiseGit, I get this lovely window :

enter image description here

However, when I want to do the same from the command line, the documentation manages to completely confuse me. How do I revert all local uncomitted changes?

Just a vocabulary note: `revert` is to create a new commit that reverts a previous commit, `reset` is what you want (revert uncommited changes) — CharlesB, Mar 17 '11 at 13:23
@CharlesB: I know they kept that as a holdover from TortoiseSVN, but man, it seems like kind of irresponsible naming. — Cascabel, Mar 17 '11 at 14:49

William Pursell · Accepted Answer · 2011-03-17T13:27:44.147

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To discard all local changes, you do not use revert. revert is for reverting commits. Instead, do:

$ git reset --hard

Of course, if you are like me, 7 microseconds after you enter that command you will remember something that you wish you hadn't just deleted, so you might instead prefer to use:

$ git stash save 'Some changes'

which discards the changes from the working directory, but makes them retrievable.

edited Mar 17 '11 at 13:27

answered Mar 17 '11 at 13:19

William Pursell

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Do note that this discards *all* local changes, so it's not an exact replacement for that dialog with checkboxes. If you want to throw away only some changes, use `git checkout ...` as [Marc suggests below](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5339518/how-do-i-git-revert-from-the-command-line/5339716#5339716) – Cascabel Mar 17 '11 at 14:50

score 20 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 17 '11 at 13:32

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Assuming you haven't committed yet, you can also:

git checkout filename(s)

answered Mar 17 '11 at 13:32

Marc Hughes

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But still will show the file in git status inside files staged to be commited. – vidur punj Jul 29 '13 at 15:13
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That should only happen if you've previously "git add" it. If you just edit a file then check it out, it's back to the original. – Marc Hughes Jul 30 '13 at 15:59

score 2 · Answer 3 · edited Mar 31 '15 at 14:21

2

Git newbies like me should be aware that working directory' != pwd.

It rather means the whole tree.

So I'm thankful for Williams recommendation to use:

$ git stash save 'Some changes'

which can be undone via the following:

$ git stash pop

edited Mar 31 '15 at 14:21

Dylan Corriveau

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answered Mar 31 '15 at 12:22

Joerg Rade

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How do I git-revert from the command line?

3 Answers3