Summary

You should now have all the tools you could ever need to undo changes in a Git repository. The git reset, git checkout, and git revert commands can be confusing, but when you think about their effects on the working directory, staged snapshot, and commit history, it should be easier to discern which command fits the development task at hand.

The table below sums up the most common use cases for all of these commands. Be sure to keep this reference handy, as you’ll undoubtedly need to use at least some them during your Git career.

Command	Scope	Common use cases
git reset	commit-level	Discard commits in a private branch or throw away uncommited changes.
git reset	file-level	Unstage a file.
git checkout	commit-level	Switch between branches or inspect old snapshots.
git checkout	file-level	Discard changes in the working directory.
git revert	commit-level	Undo commits in a public branch.
git revert	file-level	(N/A)