my-git

Recover Lost Commit

English

When you lose a commit, check reflog first.

Many “lost” commits are actually still local, just that the current branch pointer no longer points to them.

Capture the Current State

git status
git log --oneline --decorate -10
git reflog -20

If there are still uncommitted changes in the working tree, first confirm that all of them belong to you and that you intend to restore them later:

git stash push -u -m "backup before recover lost commit"

If status includes edits owned by someone else or untracked files with an uncertain source, stop in this worktree, preserve the state, or use a separate worktree.

Find Commit Using Reflog

git reflog

After finding the target commit, do not rush to reset; first create a recovery branch:

git branch recovered-work <commit-sha>
git switch recovered-work

This allows you to check the content first:

<integration-branch> is the team’s actual integration branch, such as main, master, or develop:

git show --stat
git diff <integration-branch>...HEAD

Common Recoverable Scenarios

Reset incorrectly
Commits disappeared after rebase
Amend overwrote the previous commit
Cannot find recent commits after switching branches
Deleted a local branch

When Recovery Might Be Impossible

Reflog has expired
Local objects have been garbage collected
Never committed, just working tree files were deleted
Only exists on someone else’s machine, no local object

If it was never committed, Git usually cannot save it; you need to look at editor history, local backups, or IDE local history.