Recovering deleted branches in Git - Commands & Configuration

Introduction

Sometimes you delete a branch by mistake in Git. This concept shows how to find and restore that deleted branch quickly using Git commands.

When you accidentally delete a branch that had important work.

When you want to restore a branch after cleaning up old branches.

When you realize you need to continue work on a branch you deleted.

When you want to recover a branch after a mistaken git branch -d command.

When you want to find the last commit of a deleted branch to restore it.

Commands

This command shows a log of all recent Git actions including branch deletions. It helps find the commit hash of the deleted branch.

Terminal

git reflog

Expected Output

abc1234 HEAD@{0}: checkout: moving from feature-branch to main

bcd2345 HEAD@{1}: branch: Deleted branch feature-branch (was abc1234)

...

This command recreates the deleted branch named 'feature-branch' at the commit hash abc1234 found from reflog.

Terminal

git branch feature-branch abc1234

Expected Output

No output (command runs silently)

Switch to the restored branch to continue working on it.

Terminal

git checkout feature-branch

Expected Output

Switched to branch 'feature-branch'

Key Concept

If you remember nothing else, remember: git reflog helps you find the commit hash to restore a deleted branch.

Common Mistakes

Trying to restore a branch without finding the correct commit hash from reflog.

Git needs the exact commit hash to recreate the branch; without it, the branch cannot be restored.

Always run 'git reflog' first to find the commit hash before recreating the branch.

Using 'git checkout' to switch to a deleted branch before recreating it.

The branch no longer exists, so checkout will fail.

First recreate the branch with 'git branch <name> <commit>' then checkout.

Summary

Use 'git reflog' to find the commit hash of the deleted branch.

Recreate the branch with 'git branch <branch-name> <commit-hash>'.

Switch to the restored branch using 'git checkout <branch-name>'.