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Git 20 errors

Git Errors

Merge conflicts, rejected pushes, detached HEAD, LFS and repository corruption.

Understanding Git errors

Git errors are frightening mostly because the messages describe internal state rather than what to do. The reassuring fact is that almost nothing is lost: git reflog records every position HEAD has held, so a bad rebase, a hard reset or a deleted branch is nearly always recoverable. Before running any destructive command, note the current commit hash.

How to debug Git errors

  1. Run git status and read it fully. It tells you the current state and usually names the exact command to move forward or abort.
  2. Use git reflog to find any commit you think you have lost, then git reset --hard <hash> or git branch recovery <hash> to get it back.
  3. For a rejected push, run git fetch then git log --oneline HEAD..@{u} to see exactly what is on the remote that you do not have. Prefer --force-with-lease over --force, which refuses to overwrite work you have not seen.
  4. Abort rather than improvise when a merge or rebase goes wrong: git merge --abort, git rebase --abort, git cherry-pick --abort.
  5. For repository corruption, run git fsck --full. If objects are missing, re-cloning and cherry-picking your local work is usually faster and safer than repairing in place.

Tools worth reaching for

  • git status
  • git reflog
  • git fsck --full
  • git log --graph --oneline --all
  • git diff --check

All 20 Git errors

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