I accidentally force-pushed over my main branch and lost the previous commit history. Is there any way to recover commits before my force-push from main branch on Subhamstar/JS

[Subhamstar]

Select Topic Area

Question

GitHub Feature Area

Actions

Body

I accidentally force-pushed over my main branch and lost the previous commit history. Is there any way to recover commits before my force-push from main branch on Subhamstar/JS

[ShubhamGajera]

Yes, if the commits existed on GitHub before the force-push, you can try to recover them using:
git reflog

Find the commit hash before the push and restore it with:
git reset --hard

Then push it back:
git push --force

------>This only works if your local reflog still has the history. If not, contact GitHub Support ASAP — they might help recover lost commits.

[Subhamstar]

commit does not exist 😔

[Subhamstar]

Thankyou ❤️

[rulefahd]

@Subhamstar Did GitHub support helped you restore it ? as im facing the same issue and no local .git nor remotely

[Adarshthakur-850]

Recover Force-Pushed Commits
Run:

bash
Copy
Edit
git reflog
Find old commit hash before the force push.

Recover it:

bash
Copy
Edit
git checkout -b recovery-branch
Push it back (optional):

bash
Copy
Edit
git push origin recovery-branch

[Subhamstar]

i cerated a new "api" branch but old code is not visible

[Subhamstar]

Thankyou ❤️ finally done ✅

[Anubhavick]

@Subhamstar it not that big deal

find the commit
git reflog
Look for the commit hash before your force-push. Let's call it GOOD_COMMIT_SHA

Reset your main branch to it and force-push:

git checkout main
git reset --hard GOOD_COMMIT_SHA
git push --force origin main

this should work if committed ur code base at least one time when it was working fine

Please mark this answer if this helps you

[Subhamstar]

Thankyou ❤️ finally done ✅

[Subhamstar]

but all commit are gone . i pushed forced

…

On Sat, 26 Jul 2025 at 22:20, Adarsh Thakur ***@***.***> wrote: Recover Force-Pushed Commits Run: bash Copy Edit git reflog Find old commit hash before the force push. Recover it: bash Copy Edit git checkout -b recovery-branch Push it back (optional): bash Copy Edit git push origin recovery-branch — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#167621 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/A5N5VV25MCFVK42CNOGY2Y33KOWTXAVCNFSM6AAAAACCNYJH7SVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43URDJONRXK43TNFXW4Q3PNVWWK3TUHMYTGOBZG42TGNA> . You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[Anubhavick]

@Subhamstar to your local repository

Inspect the reflog
git reflog

You'll see a list of entries, with the most recent at the top. Each entry shows an action and a commit hash. Look for an entry that happened just before your force push.

Create a new branch from the good commit:
git branch recovery-branch GOOD_COMMIT_SHA

Reset your main branch to the recovered state:

git checkout main
git reset --hard recovery-branch

then
git push --force origin main

[Anubhavick]

but all commit are gone . i pushed forced
…
On Sat, 26 Jul 2025 at 22:20, Adarsh Thakur @.> wrote: Recover Force-Pushed Commits Run: bash Copy Edit git reflog Find old commit hash before the force push. Recover it: bash Copy Edit git checkout -b recovery-branch Push it back (optional): bash Copy Edit git push origin recovery-branch — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#167621 (comment)>, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/A5N5VV25MCFVK42CNOGY2Y33KOWTXAVCNFSM6AAAAACCNYJH7SVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43URDJONRXK43TNFXW4Q3PNVWWK3TUHMYTGOBZG42TGNA . You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: @.>

your commits are almost certainly still recoverable!

[Subhamstar]

how its possible !! please help
i work hard for 1 month for this repo but today 😔

[Anubhavick]

What repo can I get access??

[AmanRai8]

you will find your answer in these discussions:
1.
2

[Subhamstar]

1st one is take time arround 15 minutes and dont work and last one i dont upderstand how to solve please suggest any

[AmanRai8]

this link contains all the answered discussions related to your problem

[Subhamstar]

Thankyou ❤️ finally done ✅

[mohamedhekal]

Yes, there may still be a way to recover your lost commits — even after a force-push — especially if:

• You pushed from your local machine

• Or someone else cloned/forked the repo before the force-push

• Or GitHub's reflog still has a record (limited window)

---

✅ If You Still Have Local Access (best chance):

If you force-pushed from your local machine, your previous commits might still be in your local Git history.

Try this:

git reflog

This shows a log of all recent actions, including commits before the force-push.

You’ll see something like:

abc1234 HEAD@{0}: push --force: updating branch 'main'
def5678 HEAD@{1}: commit: something important
...

To restore the state before the force push:

git checkout def5678   # or any commit hash before the force-push

Then, you can create a backup branch:

git checkout -b backup-main

---

✅ If It Happened Only on GitHub (no local copy):

Unfortunately, GitHub does not expose reflog publicly, so once a force-push overwrites history, it's permanently gone unless:

• Someone else has a fork or clone with the old commits

• GitHub Support agrees to recover it (very rare, but worth trying)

You can try contacting GitHub Support with:

• Repository name

• Date/time of the force push

• Original commit hashes if known

They may be able to help, especially if it was a recent action.

---

⚠️ Prevent This in the Future:

• Enable branch protection on main to disallow force-pushes

• Always push to a feature branch and open a PR instead of pushing directly to main

• Use git push --force-with-lease (safer) instead of --force

---

🧠 TL;DR

Scenario	Can You Recover?	Action
You pushed from local	✅ Likely possible	git reflog, recover from there
Only GitHub has the history	❌ Harder	Ask GitHub Support
Others have a clone/fork	✅ Ask them	Rebase from their copy

Let me know if you want help inspecting your reflog.

Yes, there **may still be a way to recover your lost commits** — even after a force-push — especially if:

• You pushed from your local machine
• Or someone else cloned/forked the repo before the force-push
• Or GitHub's reflog still has a record (limited window)

---

✅ If You Still Have Local Access (best chance):

If you force-pushed from your local machine, your previous commits might still be in your local Git history.

Try this:

git reflog

This shows a log of all recent actions, including commits before the force-push.

You’ll see something like:

abc1234 HEAD@{0}: push --force: updating branch 'main'
def5678 HEAD@{1}: commit: something important
...

To restore the state before the force push:

git checkout def5678   # or any commit hash before the force-push

Then, you can create a backup branch:

git checkout -b backup-main

---

✅ If It Happened Only on GitHub (no local copy):

Unfortunately, GitHub does not expose reflog publicly, so once a force-push overwrites history, it's permanently gone unless:

• Someone else has a fork or clone with the old commits
• GitHub Support agrees to recover it (very rare, but worth trying)

You can try contacting GitHub Support with:

• Repository name
• Date/time of the force push
• Original commit hashes if known

They may be able to help, especially if it was a recent action.

---

⚠️ Prevent This in the Future:

• Enable branch protection on main to disallow force-pushes
• Always push to a feature branch and open a PR instead of pushing directly to main
• Use git push --force-with-lease (safer) instead of --force

---

🧠 TL;DR

Scenario	Can You Recover?	Action
You pushed from local	✅ Likely possible	git reflog, recover from there
Only GitHub has the history	❌ Harder	Ask GitHub Support
Others have a clone/fork	✅ Ask them	Rebase from their copy

Let me know if you want help inspecting your reflog.

[Subhamstar]

Thankyou ❤️ finally done ✅

[AFIF2729]

Oh no! Don’t worry — you might still be able to get your commits back.

If you had a local copy before the force push:
Run this in your terminal:

git reflog
It shows a list of recent changes. Look for the commit before the force-push, then run:

git checkout
git checkout -b recover-main
Boom — your old branch is back. You can push it again if needed.

If you didn’t have a local copy:
You can try:

git fsck --lost-found
Sometimes Git keeps dangling commits. You can inspect them with:

git show
If that doesn’t work, your best bet is to contact GitHub Support ASAP — they may still have it.

[Subhamstar]

Thankyou ❤️ finally done ✅

[queenofcorgis]

Hey there! 👋

Thanks for posting in the GitHub Community, @Subhamstar ! We're happy you're here. You are more likely to get a useful response if you are posting in the applicable category. The Accessibility category is a place for our community to discuss and provide feedback on the digital accessibility of GitHub products. Digital accessibility means that GitHub tools, and technologies, are designed and developed so that people with disabilities can use them.

I've gone ahead and moved this to the correct category for you, Repositories. Good luck!

[Subhamstar]

Thankyou ❤️ finally done ✅🌳

[Subhamstar]

Thankyou ❤️ finally done ✅