OGG… What’s difference between git reset –hard vs –mixed vs –soft?

Objective

• Understand what git reset is
• Understand the difference between git reset --hard vs --mixed vs --soft

What is git reset?

Definition: git reset
git reset is a command used to move HEAD and optionally unstage or delete changes.

Comparison Table between --soft, --mixed, and --hard

Area	--soft	--mixed (default)	--hard
HEAD (commit ptr)	✔️ moved	✔️ moved	✔️ moved
Staging area (Index)	✅ kept	❌ cleared	❌ cleared
Working dir files	✅ kept	✅ kept	❌ cleared

git reset sequence diagram

The following diagram is a step-by-step visualization of how different git reset modes affect Git’s three areas:

sequenceDiagram
    participant Before as commit-id A
    participant Working as Working Area
    participant Staging as Staging(Index)
    participant HEAD as commit-id B

    Before->>Working: editing files

    Working->>Staging: git add

    Staging->>HEAD: git commit

    HEAD->>Staging: git reset --soft HEAD~1
    HEAD->>Working: git reset --mixed HEAD~1
    HEAD->>Before: git reset --hard HEAD~1

Do I need to run git reset --hard? Think again

When working with Git, you may find yourself needing to create a new branch from a previous commit becasue a bug was introduced in the most recent commit. For example, you might want to create a HOTFIX branch from one commit before the current HEAD.

You may be thinking of git reset --hard and git switch for checkout, but think again. In that case,

git switch -c HOTFIX HEAD~1

is better.

What It Does

• Creates a new branch named HOTFIX starting from the commit before HEAD.
• Switches you to the HOTFIX branch.
• Leaves your current branch and commit history unchanged.

Benefits

• Non-destructive: All commits are preserved.
• Clean separation: You work on the hotfix branch without altering your current one.

Best Practice Guideline Summary

If you want to…	Use
Rewrite commit history but keep work	git reset --soft HEAD~1
Unstage files, keep changes in files	git reset --mixed HEAD~1 (default)
Fully discard all changes and reset everything	git reset --hard HEAD~1
Create and switch to a new branch HOTFIX from HEAD~1	git switch -c HOTFIX HEAD~1

📘 References

• Git DOcumentation > git-reset