Sometimes, changes are staged for commit, but upon further consideration, you realize that certain modifications should not be included. Luckily, it is possible to revert staged changes in Git, ensuring that your commits accurately reflect the intended modifications.

Undoing Staged Changes with git restore

The git restore command is a powerful tool for reverting staged changes. To undo modifications in files that have been staged but not yet committed, you can use the following command:

git restore --staged <file>

Where <file> is the name of the files or its path relative to the project directory. The --staged flag here "tells" Git to restore the changes in the staging area. After running this command the changes in the <file> will be unstaged.

In case you want to unstage and then revert the changes in the working directory, you can use the following command:

git restore --staged --worktree <file>

Here is an image to make things clear:

Example Workflow

Suppose you want to add another line with the next step of the recipe:

Unlike in the previous chapter, no mistake was made, so stage this change:

However, after reconsidering before committing, it appears that adding this line to the recipe file is unnecessary. Therefore, completely revert this change. First, check the status of the working tree and staging area:

This change is indeed staged, so run the git restore command with the appropriate flags to fully revert it:

Finally, verify that both the working tree and staging area are clean: