Fix · GitHub and Git

I lost my work after a reset or a bad command

Blocks your work

What you may see

My commits disappeared after reset, rebase or switching branch
Files are gone and I never pushed

Most likely cause

Git almost never deletes saved commits at once; they stay in a hidden log (the reflog) for weeks.

Check first (about two minutes)

Stop. Do not run more commands that change files.
Run git reflog and look for the line from before the mistake.

The fix prompt

What you type here never leaves your browser. The search runs on this page, and nothing is sent to a server or to an AI.

The exact error or what you see

What you did before it happened

Kept only in this browser, on this device. Keys and passwords are removed before anything is saved.

Prompt language

You are a patient senior engineer who knows Git and GitHub very well and explains them to people who are not developers. I am not a developer, so explain every step in plain words and tell me exactly which button, menu or command you mean. If you are not sure about something, say so; do not guess.

THE PROBLEM
I lost my work after a reset or a bad command

THE EXACT ERROR OR WHAT I SEE
[paste the exact error here]

WHAT I DID BEFORE IT HAPPENED
[write in a few words what you did before it happened]

MOST LIKELY CAUSE
Git almost never deletes saved commits at once; they stay in a hidden log (the reflog) for weeks.

DO THESE STEPS, IN THIS ORDER
1. Do not change anything yet. Run git reflog -30 and git status and show me.
2. Help me find the entry from just before the mistake, and show what commit it points to (git show --stat <hash>).
3. Create a branch there: git branch rescued <hash>. It changes nothing else.
4. Compare rescued with my current branch and help me bring back only what I need.
Stop and tell me if what you see does not match a step. Do not skip ahead.

CHECK THAT IT WORKED
- git log rescued shows my lost commits and the files open as before.
Tell me exactly what I should see on the screen when it works.

DO NOT CHANGE
- Do not run git gc or git prune.
- Anything I did not ask about: the design, the text, other pages, other settings or the data.
- Do not delete files, data or branches, do not reset or force-push, and do not rewrite history, unless you first show me exactly what would be lost and I say yes.
- Do not paste, print or ask me to paste a password or secret key into this chat. If one is needed, tell me which settings page of the right service to store it in.

WHEN YOU FINISH
Explain in simple words what you changed (file by file or setting by setting), why you changed it, and how I can undo it.

Paste it into Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or Cursor, then follow what it says.

After you tried it, did it work?

Steps

Do not change anything yet. Run git reflog -30 and git status and show me.
Help me find the entry from just before the mistake, and show what commit it points to (git show --stat <hash>).
Create a branch there: git branch rescued <hash>. It changes nothing else.
Compare rescued with my current branch and help me bring back only what I need.

Do not do this

Do not delete the .git folder or reinstall Git.
Do not keep working in the broken state: it makes recovery harder.
Do not run git gc or git prune.

Try another entry