Recovering deleted branches in Git - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is the first step to recover a deleted branch in Git?

Use git reflog to find the commit hash where the branch was last pointing before deletion.

beginner

How do you recreate a deleted branch once you have the commit hash?

Run git branch <branch-name> <commit-hash> to restore the branch at the commit.

beginner

What command shows a log of all recent Git actions including branch deletions?

git reflog shows a history of HEAD changes, including branch deletions and checkouts.

intermediate

Can you recover a deleted branch if you don't know the commit hash?

Yes, by using git reflog you can find the commit hash from recent HEAD movements.

advanced

What happens if you try to recover a branch that was deleted a long time ago and reflog is expired?

If reflog entries are expired or garbage collected, recovery might not be possible unless you have backups or remote copies.

Which Git command helps you find the commit hash of a deleted branch?

A git reflog

B git status

C git branch -d

D git log --oneline

git reflog tracks all recent HEAD changes, including branch deletions, so you can find the commit hash.

How do you restore a deleted branch named 'feature' at commit abc123?

A git checkout feature abc123

B git branch feature abc123

C git restore feature abc123

D git reset feature abc123

git branch feature abc123 recreates the branch 'feature' at the commit abc123.

What does git reflog show?

A Current branch status

B All commits in the repo

C History of HEAD changes including branch deletions

D Remote branches

git reflog shows the history of HEAD movements, useful for recovering deleted branches.

If a branch was deleted a long time ago and reflog is cleared, what is a possible recovery option?

A Use <code>git branch -f</code>

B Use <code>git stash</code>

C Run <code>git clean</code>

D Check remote repositories or backups

Remote repositories or backups may still have the branch if reflog is expired locally.

What is the safest way to avoid losing branches accidentally?

A Push branches to remote repositories regularly

B Delete branches often

C Never commit changes

D Use <code>git reset --hard</code> frequently

Pushing branches to remote repositories keeps a backup copy to recover from if deleted locally.

Explain the steps to recover a deleted Git branch using reflog.

Think about how Git tracks HEAD changes and how to create a branch at a specific commit.

What are the limitations of recovering deleted branches in Git?

Consider what happens if Git cleans up old history or if no backups exist.