Introduction

Git is a powerful distributed version control system used by developers worldwide to manage and track changes in their codebase. EGit is a plugin for the Eclipse IDE that provides Git integration within the Eclipse development environment. One common task developers may need to perform in Git is reverting changes. This article provides a detailed explanation of how to revert changes using both the Git command line and EGit in Eclipse.

What Does Reverting Mean in Git?

Reverting in Git means creating a new commit that undoes changes made in a previous commit. Unlike "reset," which moves the current branch to a specific state and can potentially lose commits, "revert" is a safer operation that preserves the entire commit history.

How to Revert a Commit in Git

Reverting in the Terminal

Performing a revert in Git via the terminal is straightforward:

1. Identify the Commit Hash: Run `git log` to find the commit hash you want to revert.

• Conflicting Changes: Reverting can lead to merge conflicts if subsequent changes affect the same lines of code.
• Revert vs. Reset: Unlike `git reset`, which alters the commit history, `git revert` is non-destructive and ideal for shared branches where preserving history is crucial.
• Reverting Multiple Commits: Multiple commits can be reverted either by manually reverting them one by one or by using a range in more advanced scenarios.
• Amending Commits: If you've just made a commit and realize you need to amend, you can use `git commit --amend` for quick fixes rather than reverting.
• Reverting Merge Commits: When reverting a merge commit, use `git revert -m ``<mainline>`` ``<commit-hash>``` to specify the parent’s mainline.