Git Reflog: Recover Lost Commits and Branches

What Is Reflog?

The reflog (reference log) records every time the tip of a branch or HEAD changes. It is Git's local diary — it remembers commits even after you reset, rebase, or delete a branch.

git reflog

abc1234 HEAD@{0} commit: Fix auth bug
def5678 HEAD@{1} reset: moving to HEAD~1
ghi9012 HEAD@{2} commit: Add feature X
jkl3456 HEAD@{3} commit: Merge branch 'feature'

Common Recovery Scenarios

Recover from a hard reset:

# Oops, you ran this:
git reset --hard HEAD~3

# Find the lost commits:
git reflog
# See abc1234 at HEAD@{5}

# Go back:
git reset --hard abc1234

Recover a deleted branch:

# The branch is gone, but the commits are not:
git reflog | grep "feature-login"
# Find the last commit on that branch

# Recreate the branch:
git branch feature-login abc1234

Reflog vs History

The reflog is local — it only exists on your machine. It is not pushed or shared with remotes. Each repository has its own reflog for HEAD, branches, and stashes.

Reflog Expiration

Reflog entries expire:

• 90 days for commits reachable from a branch
• 30 days for unreachable commits

You can adjust this with gc.reflogExpire.

git config --global gc.reflogExpire 180
git config --global gc.reflogExpireUnreachable 60

Best Practices

1. Check reflog before panicking after a destructive command
2. Use git reflog regularly to understand how Git works
3. Remember: reflog is local — push important branches early and often

git reflog is Git's safety net. It has saved countless developers from lost work.