git reflog — Recovering Lost Work

The reflog (reference log) records every position HEAD has pointed to — every commit, switch, reset, and rebase. It is your ultimate safety net. Even after git reset --hard or a bad rebase, you can almost always recover your work using reflog.

01.How the Reflog Works

Git keeps a local log of every place HEAD has been for approximately 90 days. Entries are numbered HEAD@{0} (now), HEAD@{1} (previous), HEAD@{2} (before that), and so on. After a git reset --hard that "destroyed" commits, those commit objects still exist in Git's object database — they are just unreferenced. Reflog finds them.

Commit Timeline

a1b2c3d

init

b2c3d4e

feat

c3d4e5f

fix

d4e5f6a

HEAD

02.Recovery Workflow

Scenario: you ran "git reset --hard HEAD~3" and lost important commits. Step 1: git reflog — find the entry showing HEAD BEFORE the reset. Step 2: Copy that commit hash (e.g., d4e5f6a HEAD@{1}: commit: Add awesome feature). Step 3: git checkout -b recovery d4e5f6a — creates a new branch at that point. Step 4: Merge or cherry-pick back to where you need it.

Git's Three Areas

📁

Working Dir

Your files

→ git add

📋

Staging Area

Prepared

→ git commit

🗄️

Repository

.git/ history

Commands

commands — click to reveal output

git reflog

Show all recent HEAD movements

▼ show output

git reflog --all

Show reflog for all branches (not just HEAD)

git checkout d4e5f6a

Jump to the "lost" commit to inspect it

git checkout -b recovered-work d4e5f6a

Create a branch to permanently save the recovery

▼ show output

git reset --hard HEAD@{2}

Reset back to 2 positions ago using reflog reference directly

KNOWLEDGE CHECK

What makes the reflog so powerful for recovery?

Rate this lesson:

Previous Next Lesson