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How do I discard changes in my working directory (revert to the last commit)?
How do I discard changes in my working directory (revert to the last commit)?
To discard the modifications in the Git working directory and return to the state of the last commit, 1. For the modifications of the tracked files, use git checkout -- <file> or git checkout -- . Discard all modifications; 2. For new files that are not tracked, use git clean -f to delete the files. If the directory is included, use git clean -fd. Before execution, use git clean -fd to preview the deleted content; 3. If you need to reset all changes (including the temporary storage area and the working directory), use git reset --hard. This command will reset the working directory and the temporary storage area. Be sure to operate with caution. These methods can be used individually or in combination to achieve the purpose of cleaning up the working directory.

If you've made changes in your working directory and want to discard them—meaning you want to go back to the state of the last commit—there are straightforward ways to do this with Git. It's a common situation, especially when experiencing or troubleshooting.
Discarding Changes in Tracked Files
If you've modified files that are already tracked by Git (files you've added and committed before), and you want to revert those changes to match the last commit, use:
git checkout -- <file>
This will discard changes in the specified file. If you want to discard all changes in the working directory, run:
git checkout --.
Important: This only affects tracked files. Any new files you've created that aren't tracked yet won't be touched by this command.
Removing Untracked Files
If you've created new files that haven't been added to Git yet and you want to remove them along with discarding changes in tracked files, you'll need to combine a couple of commands:
To remove untracked files:
git clean -f
To remove directories as well:
git clean -fd
Before running these, you might want to check what will be deleted by using the -n option (dry run):
git clean -fdn
Reverting Everything at Once (Including Both Staged and Unstaged)
If you want to completely reset your working directory to the last commit—including staged changes—you can use:
git reset --hard
This is a powerful command—it resets both the working directory and the staging area to match the last commit. Use it with care, especially if you're not fully sure whether you want to lose all recent changes.
One thing to note: --hard is what makes Git reset the working directory files. Without it, the reset would leave your files untouched.
If you're just trying to undo local changes and start fresh from the last commit, combining git reset --hard and git clean -fd usually gets you there. It's a solid combo for cleaning up your working tree.
Basically that's it.
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