$ gitpushf.uk
Git Emergency

I made a bad merge

Severity Annoying

What just happened

A merge commit joined two histories. If it is not pushed yet, you can simply go back. If it is pushed, you revert it.

Potential risks

  • Reverting a merge makes re-merging the same branch later tricky (you must revert the revert).

Before you run anything

  • Check whether the merge is pushed: git status shows “ahead of origin” if it is not.
  • Golden rule: before any destructive command, create a safety branch with git branch backup/before-fix — it costs nothing.

Recovery steps

  1. 1

    Merge still in progress? Abort it

    Returns to the state before you started merging.

    Safe
    $ git merge --abort
  2. 2

    Merged but not pushed

    ORIG_HEAD points to where you were before the merge. Discards uncommitted changes.

    Destructive
    $ git branch backup/before-fix
    $ git reset --hard ORIG_HEAD
  3. 3

    Already pushed: revert the merge

    -m 1 keeps the first parent (your main branch) as the reference.

    Caution
    $ git revert -m 1 <merge-commit-hash>
    $ git push

These procedures are provided for information only. Read each command and adapt it to your situation before running it. Disclaimer

Other disasters

🪓 I deleted my branch🚨 I pushed directly to main💥 I ran git reset --hard🧨 I overwrote a colleague's commits🔑 I pushed my .env file to GitHub👻 I lost uncommitted changes🎯 I committed on the wrong branch🎈 I'm in “detached HEAD” state⚔️ I'm stuck in a merge conflict🚫 My push is rejected (non-fast-forward)🌀 My rebase went wrong🐘 GitHub rejects a file over 100 MB🥸 I committed with the wrong name or email🗑️ I deleted a file and committed it⏪ I want to undo my last commit✏️ I amended a commit that was already pushed🧹 Too many messy commits to clean up📮 I pushed to the wrong branch🧭 I rebased onto the wrong branch🔁 I need back the changes I reverted📦 git stash pop gave me a conflict🙈 I committed a file that should be ignored🔠 Git doesn't see my file rename (upper/lower case)🧨 I ran git clean -fd by mistake🩻 My repository is corrupted🙃 I forgot to pull before pushing👯 Duplicated lines of code after a merge➖ I added a file I didn't want to (git add)✏️ I made a typo in a commit message✂️ My commit does too many things🧺 I lost a stash (drop, clear or pop gone wrong)🫥 I pulled and my code disappeared🍒 I cherry-picked the wrong commit☁️ I deleted a branch on GitHub / GitLab👥 I pushed with the wrong GitHub account🚚 The repository was renamed or moved🏷️ I tagged the wrong commit🌊 Git says every file is modified, but I changed nothing📦 I committed node_modules (or a build folder)📂 I ran git init in the wrong folder🧨 My pull request has conflicts⏳ My pull request is behind main📝 I have to apply review changes to my PR🧳 My PR shows commits that aren't mine🎯 I opened my PR against the wrong branch🚨 A merged PR broke main🚪 I closed my PR (or deleted its branch) by mistake🔴 The checks of my PR are failing🐘 My PR is too big to review🍴 My fork is behind the original repository