Undo changes in Git repository

Last modified: 20 May 2021

Revert uncommitted changes

You can always undo the changes you've made locally before you commit them:

  • In the Commit tool window Alt+0, select one or more files that you want to revert, and select Rollback from the context menu, or press Ctrl+Alt+Z. All changes made to the selected files since the last commit will be discarded, and they will disappear from the active changelist.

Undo the last commit

IntelliJ IDEA allows you to undo the last commit in the current branch.

note

You cannot undo a commit if it was pushed to a protected branch, that is a branch to which force --push is not allowed (configure protected branches in the Version Control | Git page of the IDE settings Ctrl+Alt+S) Note that if a branch is marked as protected on GitHub, IntelliJ IDEA will automatically mark it as protected when you check it out.

  1. Open the Git tool window Alt+9 and switch to the Log tab.

  2. Select the last commit in the current branch and choose Undo Commit from the context menu.

  3. In the dialog that opens, select a changelist where the changes you are going to discard will be moved. You can either select an existing changelist from the Name list, or specify the name of a new changelist (the commit message is used by default).

  4. Select the Set active option if you want to make the changelist with the changes you are about to discard the active changelist.

  5. Select the Track context option if you want IntelliJ IDEA to remember your context and reload currently opened files in the editor when this changelist becomes active.

Revert a pushed commit

If you notice an error in a specific commit that has already been pushed, you can revert that commit. This operation results in a new commit that reverses the effect of the commit you want to undo. Thus, project history is preserved, as the original commit remains intact.

  1. Locate the commit you want to revert in the Log tab of the Git tool window Alt+9, right-click it and select Revert Commit from the context menu. This option is also available from the context menu of a commit in the file History view. The Commit Changes dialog will open with an automatically generated commit message.

    note

    If you apply this action to multiple commits selected in the Log view, a separate commit will be created to revert each of them.

  2. If the selected commit contains several files, and you only need to revert some of them, deselect the files you do not want to touch.

  3. Click Commit to commit a changeset that reverts the changes to the selected files in this particular commit.

Revert selected changes

IntelliJ IDEA lets you undo selected changes from a pushed commit if this commit contains multiple files and you only need to revert some of them.

  1. In the Log view select the commit containing the changes you want to discard.

  2. In the Changed Files pane, right-click the file that you want to revert and select Revert Selected Changes from the context menu.

    This results in a new commit that reverses the changes you want to undo.

Drop a commit

Unlike reverting a commit, which is reflected in the branch history, you can discard a pushed commit in the current branch without leaving any traces of the operation.

warning

Like any operation that rewrites a branch history, dropping a commit requires a --force push and cannot be performed in protected branches (these can be configured in the Version Control | Git page of the IDE settings Ctrl+Alt+S.

  • Select a commit you want to discard in the Log view and choose Drop Commit from the context menu.

Reset a branch to a specific commit

If you notice an error in a set of recent commits and want to redo that part, you can roll back your repository to a specific state. This is done by resetting the current branch HEAD to a specified commit (and optionally resetting the index and working tree if you prefer not to reflect the undo in the history).

  1. Open the Version Control tool window Alt+9 and switch to the Log tab.

  2. Select the commit that you want to move HEAD onto and select Reset Current Branch to Here from the context menu.

  3. In the Git Reset dialog that opens, select how you want your working tree and the index to be updated and click Reset:

    • Soft: all changes from commits that were made after the selected commit will be staged (that means they will be moved to the Local Changes view so that you can review them and commit later if necessary).

    • Mixed: changes made after the selected commit will be preserved but will not be staged for commit.

    • Hard: all changes made after the selected commit will be discarded (both staged and committed).

    • Keep: committed changes made after the selected commit will be discarded, but local changes will be kept intact.

Get a previous revision of a file

If you need to revert a single file instead of discarding a whole commit that includes changes to several files, you can return to a particular version of that file:

  1. Select the required file in any view (in the Project tool window, in the editor, in the Local Changes view, and so on).

  2. Select Git | Show History from the main VCS menu or from the context menu of the selection. The History tab is added to the Git tool window showing the history for the selected file and allowing you to review and compare its revisions.

  3. When you've identified the revision you want to roll back to, select it in the list and choose Get from the context menu.