SYNOPSIS
--------
[verse]
-'git reset' [--mixed | --soft | --hard | --merge] [-q] [<commit>]
+'git reset' [--mixed | --soft | --hard | --merge | --keep] [-q] [<commit>]
'git reset' [-q] [<commit>] [--] <paths>...
+'git reset' --patch [<commit>] [--] [<paths>...]
DESCRIPTION
-----------
If you want to undo a commit other than the latest on a branch,
linkgit:git-revert[1] is your friend.
-The second form with 'paths' is used to revert selected paths in
-the index from a given commit, without moving HEAD.
+The second and third forms with 'paths' and/or --patch are used to
+revert selected paths in the index from a given commit, without moving
+HEAD.
OPTIONS
--soft::
Does not touch the index file nor the working tree at all, but
requires them to be in a good order. This leaves all your changed
- files "Changes to be committed", as 'git-status' would
+ files "Changes to be committed", as 'git status' would
put it.
--hard::
and updates the files that are different between the named commit
and the current commit in the working tree.
+--keep::
+ Reset the index to the given commit, keeping local changes in
+ the working tree since the current commit, while updating
+ working tree files without local changes to what appears in
+ the given commit. If a file that is different between the
+ current commit and the given commit has local changes, reset
+ is aborted.
+
+-p::
+--patch::
+ Interactively select hunks in the difference between the index
+ and <commit> (defaults to HEAD). The chosen hunks are applied
+ in reverse to the index.
++
+This means that `git reset -p` is the opposite of `git add -p` (see
+linkgit:git-add[1]).
+
-q::
+--quiet::
Be quiet, only report errors.
<commit>::
Commit to make the current HEAD. If not given defaults to HEAD.
+DISCUSSION
+----------
+
+The tables below show what happens when running:
+
+----------
+git reset --option target
+----------
+
+to reset the HEAD to another commit (`target`) with the different
+reset options depending on the state of the files.
+
+In these tables, A, B, C and D are some different states of a
+file. For example, the first line of the first table means that if a
+file is in state A in the working tree, in state B in the index, in
+state C in HEAD and in state D in the target, then "git reset --soft
+target" will put the file in state A in the working tree, in state B
+in the index and in state D in HEAD.
+
+ working index HEAD target working index HEAD
+ ----------------------------------------------------
+ A B C D --soft A B D
+ --mixed A D D
+ --hard D D D
+ --merge (disallowed)
+ --keep (disallowed)
+
+ working index HEAD target working index HEAD
+ ----------------------------------------------------
+ A B C C --soft A B C
+ --mixed A C C
+ --hard C C C
+ --merge (disallowed)
+ --keep A C C
+
+ working index HEAD target working index HEAD
+ ----------------------------------------------------
+ B B C D --soft B B D
+ --mixed B D D
+ --hard D D D
+ --merge D D D
+ --keep (disallowed)
+
+ working index HEAD target working index HEAD
+ ----------------------------------------------------
+ B B C C --soft B B C
+ --mixed B C C
+ --hard C C C
+ --merge C C C
+ --keep B C C
+
+ working index HEAD target working index HEAD
+ ----------------------------------------------------
+ B C C D --soft B C D
+ --mixed B D D
+ --hard D D D
+ --merge (disallowed)
+ --keep (disallowed)
+
+ working index HEAD target working index HEAD
+ ----------------------------------------------------
+ B C C C --soft B C C
+ --mixed B C C
+ --hard C C C
+ --merge B C C
+ --keep B C C
+
+"reset --merge" is meant to be used when resetting out of a conflicted
+merge. Any mergy operation guarantees that the work tree file that is
+involved in the merge does not have local change wrt the index before
+it starts, and that it writes the result out to the work tree. So if
+we see some difference between the index and the target and also
+between the index and the work tree, then it means that we are not
+resetting out from a state that a mergy operation left after failing
+with a conflict. That is why we disallow --merge option in this case.
+
+"reset --keep" is meant to be used when removing some of the last
+commits in the current branch while keeping changes in the working
+tree. If there could be conflicts between the changes in the commit we
+want to remove and the changes in the working tree we want to keep,
+the reset is disallowed. That's why it is disallowed if there are both
+changes between the working tree and HEAD, and between HEAD and the
+target. To be safe, it is also disallowed when there are unmerged
+entries.
+
+The following tables show what happens when there are unmerged
+entries:
+
+ working index HEAD target working index HEAD
+ ----------------------------------------------------
+ X U A B --soft (disallowed)
+ --mixed X B B
+ --hard B B B
+ --merge B B B
+ --keep (disallowed)
+
+ working index HEAD target working index HEAD
+ ----------------------------------------------------
+ X U A A --soft (disallowed)
+ --mixed X A A
+ --hard A A A
+ --merge A A A
+ --keep (disallowed)
+
+X means any state and U means an unmerged index.
+
Examples
--------
$ git reset --hard <2>
$ git pull . topic/branch <3>
Updating from 41223... to 13134...
-Fast forward
+Fast-forward
$ git reset --hard ORIG_HEAD <4>
------------
+
which is a synonym for "git reset --hard HEAD" clears the mess
from the index file and the working tree.
<3> Merge a topic branch into the current branch, which resulted
-in a fast forward.
+in a fast-forward.
<4> But you decided that the topic branch is not ready for public
consumption yet. "pull" or "merge" always leaves the original
tip of the current branch in ORIG_HEAD, so resetting hard to it
<2> This commits all other changes in the index.
<3> Adds the file to the index again.
+Keep changes in working tree while discarding some previous commits::
++
+Suppose you are working on something and you commit it, and then you
+continue working a bit more, but now you think that what you have in
+your working tree should be in another branch that has nothing to do
+with what you commited previously. You can start a new branch and
+reset it while keeping the changes in your work tree.
++
+------------
+$ git tag start
+$ git checkout -b branch1
+$ edit
+$ git commit ... <1>
+$ edit
+$ git checkout -b branch2 <2>
+$ git reset --keep start <3>
+------------
++
+<1> This commits your first edits in branch1.
+<2> In the ideal world, you could have realized that the earlier
+ commit did not belong to the new topic when you created and switched
+ to branch2 (i.e. "git checkout -b branch2 start"), but nobody is
+ perfect.
+<3> But you can use "reset --keep" to remove the unwanted commit after
+ you switched to "branch2".
+
Author
------
Written by Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> and Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>