How to undo a git merge with conflicts

Question

I am on branch mybranch1. mybranch2 is forked from mybranch1 and changes were made in mybranch2.

Then, while on mybranch1, I have done git merge --no-commit mybranch2 It shows there were conflicts while merging.

Now I want do discard everything (the merge command) so that mybranch1 is back to what it was before. I have no idea how do I go about this.

Possible duplicate of [I ran into a merge conflict. How can I abort the merge?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/101752/i-ran-into-a-merge-conflict-how-can-i-abort-the-merge) — Suma, Jan 20 '16 at 21:15

Daniel Cassidy · Answer 1 · 2011-04-21T10:06:10.117

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Latest Git:

git merge --abort

This attempts to reset your working copy to whatever state it was in before the merge. That means that it should restore any uncommitted changes from before the merge, although it cannot always do so reliably. Generally you shouldn't merge with uncommitted changes anyway.

Prior to version 1.7.4:

git reset --merge

This is older syntax but does the same as the above.

Prior to version 1.6.2:

git reset --hard

which removes all uncommitted changes, including the uncommitted merge. Sometimes this behaviour is useful even in newer versions of Git that support the above commands.

edited Apr 21 '11 at 10:06

answered Apr 21 '11 at 08:23

Daniel Cassidy

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But for older versions of git this is the way to use – Anshul Apr 21 '11 at 08:59
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Sometimes you still need to use `git reset --merge` even in more recent versions. I've had `git merge --abort` error out (making no changes) where `git reset --merge` succeeds (and does the right thing) in git 2.2.1. – Theodore Murdock Nov 18 '15 at 19:26
I found I needed to do `git merge --abort` followed by `git reset --merge` when having automerge conflict from popping my stash. – Chef Pharaoh Apr 19 '18 at 15:04
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usually `git merge --abort` works for me, however I found myself in a situation where I checked out in a detached HEAD state, and one of my files had a "both modified" state. I wanted to discard everything and get back to a branch, I had to `git reset --hard`, `git merge --abort` told me there was no merge to abort, (MERGE_HEAD missing). – yano Dec 17 '18 at 18:20
Sometimes `git merge --abort` isn't able to bring you back your previous state, and in that case the "older syntax" `git reset --hard` does the trick. – Kevin Stewart Feb 21 '19 at 15:56
Got message "fatal: There is no merge to abort (MERGE_HEAD missing)." – vikramvi Mar 03 '21 at 11:05

score 139 · Answer 2 · edited Jul 06 '17 at 08:50

139

Actually, it is worth noticing that git merge --abort is only equivalent to git reset --merge given that MERGE_HEAD is present. This can be read in the git help for merge command.

git merge --abort # is equivalent to git reset --merge when MERGE_HEAD is present.

After a failed merge, when there is no MERGE_HEAD, the failed merge can be undone with git reset --merge but not necessarily with git merge --abort, so they are not only old and new syntax for the same thing.

Personally I find git reset --merge much more useful in everyday work.

edited Jul 06 '17 at 08:50

CommonSenseCode

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answered Jun 09 '14 at 06:45

Martin G

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Thank you, this info was very helpful. I had a merge that started with `git stash apply` on a wrong branch, and `git merge --abort` did nothing (no `MERGE_HEAD`), while `git reset --merge` did the trick. – geomaster Sep 10 '15 at 02:02
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I've seen about 10 people saying `git merge --abort` is the new command for `git reset --merge` and I ran into the same issue as @geomaster this was super helpful thanks! – Tom Jan 20 '17 at 20:26

score 107 · Answer 3 · answered Apr 21 '11 at 08:23

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Assuming you are using the latest git,

git merge --abort

answered Apr 21 '11 at 08:23

Adam Dymitruk

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Ok this doesn't work with 1.7.0.7 :( . got to use reset --hard with it – Anshul Apr 21 '11 at 08:59

score 20 · Answer 4 · answered Jun 26 '20 at 05:34

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If using latest Git,

git merge --abort

else this will do the job in older git versions

git reset --merge

or

git reset --hard

answered Jun 26 '20 at 05:34

Hanzla Habib

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score 7 · Answer 5 · answered Feb 21 '20 at 16:28

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There are two things you can do first undo merge by command

git merge --abort

or

you can go to your previous commit state temporarily by command

git checkout 0d1d7fc32

answered Feb 21 '20 at 16:28

Manish Kumar Singh

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score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Feb 21 '20 at 16:12

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Sourcetree

If you not commit your merge, then just double click on another branch (=checkout) and when sourcetree ask you about discarding all changes then agree

answered Feb 21 '20 at 16:12

Kamil Kiełczewski

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How to undo a git merge with conflicts

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