git_reflog
git reflog
Safety net for recovering lost work.
📊 What is Reflog?
Reflog tracks every HEAD movement:
- Commits
- Checkouts
- Resets
- Rebases
- Merges
graph LR
A[Every HEAD change] --> B[Recorded in reflog]
B --> C[Can recover lost commits]
📋 View Reflog
Show Reflog
git reflog
Shows HEAD history.
Output:
abc1234 HEAD@{0}: commit: Message
def5678 HEAD@{1}: checkout: moving from main to feature
ghi9012 HEAD@{2}: commit: Previous message
Detailed View
git reflog show HEAD
Same as
git reflog.
Branch Reflog
git reflog show main
Shows history for specific branch.
With Dates
git reflog --date=relative
Shows relative dates.
With Full Dates
git reflog --date=iso
Shows ISO format dates.
🔄 Recover Lost Commits
After Hard Reset
git reset --hard HEAD~3
# Oops! Need those commits back!
Find Lost Commit
git reflog
Find the hash of lost commit.
Recover Commit
git reset --hard abc1234
Reset to the lost commit.
Create Branch from Lost Commit
git branch recovered abc1234
Creates branch at lost commit.
🌿 Recover Deleted Branch
After Deleting Branch
git branch -D feature-branch
# Need it back!
Find Last Commit
git reflog | grep feature-branch
Find where branch was.
Recreate Branch
git branch feature-branch abc1234
Recreates branch at that commit.
⏪ Recover from Bad Rebase
After Rebase Gone Wrong
git rebase main
# Made a mess!
Find Pre-rebase State
git reflog
Look for "rebase: starting" or "checkout".
Reset to Pre-rebase
git reset --hard HEAD@{5}
Returns to state 5 moves ago.
🧹 Manage Reflog
Expire Old Entries
git reflog expire --expire=90.days.ago --all
Removes entries older than 90 days.
Expire All Now
git reflog expire --expire=now --all
Removes all reflog entries.
Delete Specific Entry
git reflog delete HEAD@{2}
Deletes specific entry.
⏰ Reference by Time
By Relative Time
git show HEAD@{1.hour.ago}
Shows HEAD from 1 hour ago.
By Date
git show main@{2024-01-15}
Shows main branch on specific date.
By Yesterday
git diff main@{yesterday} main
Changes since yesterday.
💡 Tips
Reflog only exists on your machine. Not shared with remote.
Entries expire after 90 days (30 for unreachable).
After git gc, unreachable commits may be deleted.
🔗 Related
#git #reflog #recovery #advanced