Git Revert

The git revert command undoes the changes of an old commit by creating a new commit that does the opposite. The old commit stays in the history. This is why revert is the safe way to undo something which is already pushed and shared with other people.

Syntax

git revert <commit>
git revert HEAD
git revert HEAD~2
git revert --no-edit <commit>
git revert -m 1 <merge-commit>

Revert a commit

We have three commits. The middle one, “Add debug file”, was a mistake. We can undo only that commit, and keep the commits before and after it.

The file debug.txt is gone, but the history still shows both the bad commit and the new revert commit. The other files are not touched.

Revert the last commit

git revert HEAD

Revert more than one commit

git revert HEAD~3..HEAD
git revert --no-commit HEAD~3..HEAD

The option --no-commit (or -n) applies the changes but does not make the commits, so you can join all the reverts in one commit.

Revert a merge commit

A merge commit has two parents, so Git does not know which side to keep. You must tell it with -m. Usually -m 1 keeps the main branch side.

git revert -m 1 <merge-commit-hash>

When there is a conflict

If the later commits changed the same lines, Git stops and shows a conflict. Solve it like a normal merge conflict, then run git revert --continue. To cancel, use git revert --abort.

git revert vs git reset

git revert	git reset
Adds a new commit that undoes the change	Moves the branch back and removes commits
History is kept	History is rewritten
Safe for pushed (shared) branches	Only for local commits
Can undo any commit in the middle	Mostly for the latest commits

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