git: recover a snowflake commit
β’ 349 words β’ 2 min β’ updated
When working with git, sometimes we make
PEBKAC mistakes and end up losing a
given checkout or commit or worktree.
git reflog can often help recover from these mistakes. It is a bit difficult
to understand, but quite straightforward to use:
% git reflog | grep {branch_name}For example:
% git reflog | grep -i 'thiagowfx/global-services'Enjoy a real example:
% git reflog | grep -i 'thiagowfx/global-services'
7ca9ac6de77 HEAD@{0}: checkout: moving from 8882c1a128dd2cf35aa2188def3d176c7c15d2f1 to thiagowfx/global-services-docker
8882c1a128d HEAD@{1}: checkout: moving from thiagowfx/global-services-docker to 8882c1a12
7fcc128d2ea HEAD@{15}: rebase (finish): returning to refs/heads/thiagowfx/global-services-docker
16fcb83d888 HEAD@{20}: rebase (finish): returning to refs/heads/thiagowfx/global-services-docker
431509d9d0a HEAD@{24}: rebase (abort): returning to refs/heads/thiagowfx/global-services-docker
ee408b6e38c HEAD@{30}: checkout: moving from master to thiagowfx/global-services-docker
3babf6588f3 HEAD@{55}: checkout: moving from thiagowfx/global-services-docker to thiagowfx/base-global-services-image-tag
ee408b6e38c HEAD@{57}: rebase (abort): returning to refs/heads/thiagowfx/global-services-docker
ee408b6e38c HEAD@{60}: checkout: moving from master to thiagowfx/global-services-docker
3ef5b7c3844 HEAD@{77}: checkout: moving from thiagowfx/global-services-docker to thiagowfx/check-executables-have-shebangs
ee408b6e38c HEAD@{78}: checkout: moving from master to thiagowfx/global-services-docker
87f6bb2d95d HEAD@{86}: checkout: moving from thiagowfx/global-services-docker to thiagowfx/actionlint
8d07b53fd47 HEAD@{89}: rebase (finish): returning to refs/heads/thiagowfx/global-services-docker
c21089ab78c HEAD@{95}: rebase (finish): returning to refs/heads/thiagowfx/global-services-docker
70941a98ad0 HEAD@{104}: checkout: moving from master to thiagowfx/global-services-docker
2dd03ecdd09 HEAD@{149}: checkout: moving from thiagowfx/global-services-docker to lts13.1
1d62e88a8e2 HEAD@{151}: rebase (finish): returning to refs/heads/thiagowfx/global-services-docker
c9c2b36b058 HEAD@{166}: checkout: moving from master to thiagowfx/global-services-docker
0faa6f637b6 HEAD@{281}: checkout: moving from thiagowfx/global-services-docker to thiagowfx/pre-commit-trailing-4
c9c2b36b058 HEAD@{282}: checkout: moving from master to thiagowfx/global-services-docker
b0521a1a0f7 HEAD@{284}: checkout: moving from thiagowfx/global-services-docker to master
72b137aa4c7 HEAD@{286}: checkout: moving from master to thiagowfx/global-services-docker
81ac79b0c90 HEAD@{316}: checkout: moving from thiagowfx/global-services-docker to master
baef8a5eda1 HEAD@{319}: rebase (finish): returning to refs/heads/thiagowfx/global-services-docker
81ac79b0c90 HEAD@{343}: checkout: moving from master to thiagowfx/global-services-dockerHow to find the correct checkout?
The easiest (albeit tedious) way is by brute-forcing your search in the output:
% git show 7ca9ac6de77
% git show 8882c1a128d
[...]…until you find the diff you are looking for1.
From there, either git checkout (perhaps with the aid of git worktree) or
copy-and-paste (maybe with git apply).
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I am using the term “snowflake commit” in the title but it’s not really idiomatic. The meaning is roughly a sand grain in the beach, or a snowflake in the snow. ↩︎