Recovering from hard reset in Git - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the command to view the reflog and find the commit before the hard reset.

Git

git [1]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Astatus

Bdiff

Creflog

Dlog

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'git log' only shows current branch commits, not reflog history.

Using 'git status' does not show commit history.

The git reflog command shows a log of all recent HEAD changes, including before a hard reset.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the command to reset the branch to the commit before the hard reset using its hash.

Git

git reset --hard [1]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Acommit_hash

BHEAD~1

Corigin/main

Dmaster

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'HEAD~1' may not point to the correct commit after a hard reset.

Using branch names like 'master' or 'origin/main' resets to latest remote or branch tip.

You must specify the exact commit hash from reflog to reset back to that commit.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in this command that tries to recover the commit before the hard reset.

Git

git reset --hard [1]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

AHEAD@{1}

BHEAD^2

CHEAD~2

DHEAD^^

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'HEAD^2' or 'HEAD^^' refers to parent commits, not reflog positions.

Using 'HEAD~2' moves two commits back, which may not be correct after reset.

HEAD@{1} refers to the previous position of HEAD in reflog, useful after a hard reset.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to create a command that shows the commit message and hash from reflog for the last 3 entries.

Git

git reflog --pretty=format:'%[1] %[2]' -n 3

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Ah

Bs

CH

Dan

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using uppercase 'H' shows full hash, which is longer.

Using 'an' is not a valid placeholder.

%h shows abbreviated commit hash, %s shows commit message subject.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to create a command that recovers the last hard reset commit and forces push to remote.

Git

git reset --hard [1] && git push [2] [3] --force

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

AHEAD@{1}

Borigin

Cmain

Dmaster

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'master' instead of 'main' if the repository uses 'main' branch.

Forgetting to use --force when pushing after reset.

This command resets to the previous HEAD position, then force pushes to the main branch on origin remote.

Practice

1. What is the primary command to view the history of recent commits and actions in Git after a hard reset?

easy

A. git status

B. git log --oneline

C. git reflog

D. git reset --soft

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the purpose of git reflog

   git reflog shows a log of all recent commits and HEAD movements, including resets.

2. Step 2: Compare with other commands

   git log --oneline shows commit history but not HEAD changes; git status shows current state; git reset --soft changes HEAD but does not show history.

3. Final Answer:

   git reflog -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   View recent HEAD changes = git reflog [OK]

Hint: Use git reflog to see all recent HEAD changes [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing git log with git reflog
• Using git status to find past commits
• Thinking git reset shows history

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to reset your Git repository to a previous commit with a hard reset?

easy

A. git reset --hard <commit>

B. git reset -soft <commit>

C. git checkout --hard <commit>

D. git revert --hard <commit>

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the correct reset syntax

   The correct command to reset to a previous commit and discard changes is git reset --hard <commit>.

2. Step 2: Eliminate incorrect options

   -soft is invalid flag, git checkout --hard is not a valid command, and git revert does not accept --hard.

3. Final Answer:

   git reset --hard <commit> -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Hard reset syntax = git reset --hard [OK]

Hint: Use git reset --hard commit_hash to restore state [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using -soft instead of --hard
• Confusing git revert with reset
• Trying git checkout with --hard

3. After running git reset --hard HEAD~2, which command will help you find the commit hash to recover your lost changes?

medium

A. git status

B. git branch

C. git diff

D. git reflog

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand what git reset --hard HEAD~2 does

   This command moves HEAD back two commits and discards changes, potentially losing recent commits from view.

2. Step 2: Identify command to find lost commit hashes

   git reflog shows all recent HEAD positions including those before the reset, allowing recovery.

3. Final Answer:

   git reflog -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Find lost commits after reset = git reflog [OK]

Hint: Use git reflog to find lost commit hashes after reset [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using git status which shows current state only
• Using git branch which lists branches, not commits
• Using git diff which shows changes, not history

4. You accidentally ran git reset --hard HEAD~1 and lost your latest commit. Which sequence of commands will help you recover it?

medium

A. git reflog to find commit hash, then git reset --hard <hash>

B. git log to find commit, then git revert HEAD

C. git checkout HEAD~1 then git commit --amend

D. git reset --soft HEAD~1 then git commit

Solution

1. Step 1: Use git reflog to find lost commit hash

   git reflog lists all recent HEAD positions including the lost commit before reset.

2. Step 2: Reset hard to the lost commit hash

   Use git reset --hard <hash> to restore the repository to that commit state.

3. Final Answer:

   git reflog then git reset --hard <hash> -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Recover lost commit = reflog + reset --hard [OK]

Hint: Find commit with reflog, restore with reset --hard [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using git log which may not show lost commits
• Trying git revert which creates new commits
• Using reset --soft after hard reset without commit hash

5. You performed a hard reset to a commit two steps behind but realize you need to recover the lost commits and keep your current changes. What is the best approach?

hard

A. Run git reset --hard HEAD@{1} to go back to previous HEAD state

B. Use git reflog to find lost commits, then git cherry-pick them onto current branch

C. Use git revert on the reset commit to undo the reset

D. Create a new branch from HEAD~2 and merge it back

Solution

1. Step 1: Find lost commits using git reflog

   git reflog shows the commit hashes that were lost after the hard reset.

2. Step 2: Use git cherry-pick to apply lost commits onto current branch

   This preserves current changes and reapplies lost commits without resetting the branch.

3. Final Answer:

   Use git reflog and cherry-pick lost commits -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Recover lost commits without losing current changes = reflog + cherry-pick [OK]

Hint: Cherry-pick lost commits found via reflog to keep current work [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using reset --hard to go back loses current changes
• Using revert on reset commit does not restore lost commits
• Merging from old branch may cause conflicts or duplicate commits