Differences and Usage of git reset's Three Options (--soft / --mixed / --hard)

git reset is a command for rewinding commit history. It has three options: --soft, --mixed (default), and --hard, each of which undoes changes to different extents.

Usage

bash

# Reset to one commit before (default is --mixed)
git reset HEAD~1

# --soft: Only undo the commit, changes remain in the staging area
git reset --soft HEAD~1

# --mixed: Undo commit and staging, changes remain in the working directory (default)
git reset --mixed HEAD~1
# Or simply
git reset HEAD~1

# --hard: Undo everything, changes are completely lost (use with caution)
git reset --hard HEAD~1

Differences Between the Three Options

--soft: Only Undo the Commit

Only rewinds the commit history, leaving changes in the staging area (the state after git add).

bash

# Reset to one commit before
git reset --soft HEAD~1

# In this state, changes remain in the staging area
git status
# Shows: Changes to be committed:

Use case: When you want to fix a commit message or combine multiple commits into one

--mixed: Undo Commit and Staging (Default)

Undoes the commit history and staging area, leaving changes in the working directory.

bash

# Reset to one commit before (--mixed can be omitted)
git reset --mixed HEAD~1
# Or
git reset HEAD~1

# In this state, changes remain in the working directory
git status
# Shows: Changes not staged for commit:

Use case: When you want to undo a commit, re-edit the changes, and commit again

--hard: Undo Everything

Undoes the commit history, staging area, and working directory. All changes are completely lost.

bash

# Reset to one commit before
git reset --hard HEAD~1

# In this state, changes are completely lost
git status
# Shows: nothing to commit, working tree clean

Use case: When you want to completely discard incorrect changes (Note: uncommitted changes are also lost)

Usage Guidelines

Want to Fix a Commit Message → `--soft`

bash

# Undo the last commit
git reset --soft HEAD~1

# Change the commit message and recommit
git commit -m "Fixed commit message"

Want to Re-edit Changes Before Committing → `--mixed` (Default)

bash

# Undo the last commit
git reset HEAD~1

# Edit files
# ...

# Stage changes and recommit
git add .
git commit -m "Commit message after re-editing"

Want to Completely Discard Changes → `--hard`

bash

# Completely discard the last commit and changes
git reset --hard HEAD~1

# Note: Uncommitted changes are also lost

Important Notes

--hard is Dangerous

Since --hard completely loses changes, please note the following:

Uncommitted changes are also lost: Changes in the working directory are also deleted
Difficult to restore: Once lost, changes cannot be restored unless you use Git's reflog (git reflog)
Do not use on shared branches: Using --hard on commits that have already been pushed will affect other developers

Safe Way to Undo

If you want to undo a commit that has already been pushed, use git revert instead of git reset:

bash

# Create a new commit that undoes the commit (safe)
git revert HEAD