How to undo a Git add

Sometimes, you might accidentally stage files that shouldn't be committed yet. This guide will explore various methods to undo a Git add, using the git reset and git rm commands.

What does git add do?

The git add command is used to add changes in the working directory to the staging area, preparing them for the next commit. When you use git add, you're telling Git to include updates to a particular file(s) in the next commit. However, if files are added to the staging area mistakenly, it's essential to know how to reverse this operation.

How to undo a git add using git reset

Single file

If you need to unstage a single file, use the git reset command:

git reset <file>

For example, to unstage a file named example.txt, you would run:

git reset example.txt

This command moves the specified file out of the staging area (but retains the changes in your working directory).

Multiple files

To unstage multiple files, you can list them all as arguments to the command:

git reset file1.txt file2.txt

All files

If you want to undo git add ., which stages all changes, you can reset all staged files back to the working directory without losing any changes:

git reset

This will unstage all files you've added.

Using git rm --cached to unstage files

Another method to undo git add is using the git rm --cached command. This is particularly useful when you want to completely remove files from the staging area but keep them in your working directory, especially useful for files that were newly added to the repository and staged for the first time.

Single file

To unstage a single newly added file:

git rm --cached <file>

For instance, to unstage a newly added example.txt:

git rm --cached example.txt

Multiple files

To unstage multiple newly added files:

git rm --cached file1.txt file2.txt

All files

For all newly added files, you can use:

git rm --cached -r .

This command recursively removes all files from the staging area while keeping them in your directory.

Practical example

Let's say you've accidentally staged several files and a directory with the git add . command. Here’s how you can unstage them:

1. Check what is currently staged:

   Terminal

   git status
   
   

   This command will show you all the files currently staged for commit.

2. Unstage all changes:

   Terminal

   git reset
   
   

   This will remove all files from staging.

3. Verify changes have been unstaged:

   Terminal

   git status
   
   

   You should see that the files are no longer staged.

For further reading see the official Git documentation.