Restoring changes

📘What it really is

• Throw away unsaved changes to a file (go back to the last commit): git restore index.html. Careful: those uncommitted changes are gone.

• Unstage a file (take it out of the box, keep the changes): git restore --staged index.html.

• Undo a commit safely by adding a new commit that reverses it: git revert <commit-id>. History keeps both, so nothing is lost and it's safe even after sharing.

• Look at an old version without changing anything: git show <commit-id>.

• Avoid commands that rewrite history (like git reset --hard or force-pushing) until you truly understand them. They can delete work for good, and on shared projects they break other people's copies.

• The AI safety habit: commit before asking AI for a change. If the result is bad, look first: git status lists what changed and git diff shows the lines. Then:

• edits to files Git already tracks, not staged: git restore . (run in the project's top folder) puts them back as they were at your last commit;
• anything you staged: git restore --staged --worktree . resets both the box and the files to the last commit;
• brand-new files the AI created: git restore leaves them alone; delete them yourself (git clean -n lists them first, git clean -f removes them for good);
• not sure you want to lose it all? git stash -u sets every change aside, new files included, and git stash pop brings it back.