Git Skill

Git operations with focus on commit history navigation and file recovery.

MUST-NOT-FORGET

• Always verify repository root before operations: git rev-parse --show-toplevel
• Use --name-status to see A/M/D (Added/Modified/Deleted) per commit
• To recover deleted file: checkout from commit BEFORE deletion (use ^ suffix)
• Reflog survives even after reset/rebase - use it for recovery

Setup

For installation, see SETUP.md in this skill folder.

Commit History Navigation

View Recent Commits

# Last 10 commits, one line each
git log --oneline -10

# With file changes summary
git log --oneline --name-status -10

# With date and author
git log --format="%h %ad %an: %s" --date=short -10

View Files Changed in Specific Commit

# Show files with status (A=added, M=modified, D=deleted)
git show --name-status <commit_hash>

# Just the file list
git show --name-only <commit_hash>

# Full diff
git show <commit_hash>

Navigate Commits Step by Step

# Show current HEAD
git log --oneline -1

# Show parent of HEAD
git log --oneline HEAD^ -1

# Show N commits back
git log --oneline HEAD~5 -1

# Compare two commits
git diff <commit1> <commit2> --name-status

Interactive Walkback (Step Through History)

To investigate commits one-by-one, walking backwards:

# Step 1: Start at HEAD, show what changed
git log --oneline -1
git show --name-status HEAD

# Step 2: Move back one commit, show changes
git log --oneline HEAD^ -1
git show --name-status HEAD^

# Step 3: Continue back (use ~2, ~3, etc.)
git log --oneline HEAD~2 -1
git show --name-status HEAD~2

# Pattern: HEAD~N where N = steps back from current

Tip: Your current position is always HEAD. Use git log --oneline -1 to confirm where you are.

File Recovery

Find When File Was Deleted

# List all deleted files across history
git log --diff-filter=D --summary

# Find specific file deletion
git log --diff-filter=D --summary -- "**/filename.ext"

# Find EXACTLY which commit deleted a specific file (one-liner)
git log --diff-filter=D -1 -- path/to/file.ext

# With paths
git log --diff-filter=D --name-only --format="%H %s"

Find Last Commit Where File Existed

# Shows commits that touched the file (including deletion)
git log --all -- path/to/deleted/file.ext

# The first result is the deletion commit
# Use its parent (^) to get the version before deletion

Recover Deleted File

# From commit that deleted it (^ = parent commit)
git checkout <deletion_commit>^ -- path/to/file.ext

# From known good commit
git checkout <good_commit> -- path/to/file.ext

# Alternative (Git 2.23+): git restore --source=<commit> -- path/to/file

# Using show (outputs to stdout, redirect to file)
git show <commit>:path/to/file.ext > recovered_file.ext

Recover File from Reflog

# View reflog
git reflog

# Recover from specific reflog entry
git checkout HEAD@{n} -- path/to/file.ext

Guided Recovery Workflow

When user needs to recover accidentally deleted files:

Step 1: Identify Deletion

# Find recent deletions
git log --diff-filter=D --name-only --format="=== %H %s ===" -5

Note: If file was renamed (not deleted), use git log --follow -- oldname to track renames.

Step 2: Confirm Deletion Commit

# Show what was deleted in that commit
git show --name-status <commit_hash>

Step 3: Verify File Existed Before

# Check file in parent commit
git show <commit_hash>^:<path/to/file>

Step 4: Recover

# Restore the file
git checkout <commit_hash>^ -- path/to/file

Step 5: Verify Recovery

# Check file exists
Get-Item path/to/file

# Check status
git status

Batch Operations

List All Files Deleted in Last N Commits

git log --diff-filter=D --name-only --format="" -n 20 | Where-Object { $_ -ne "" } | Sort-Object -Unique

Recover Multiple Files from Same Commit

# List files first
git show --name-only <commit>^

# Recover specific files
git checkout <commit>^ -- file1.ext file2.ext file3.ext

# Recover entire directory
git checkout <commit>^ -- path/to/directory/

Comparing Versions

Compare File Across Commits

# Between two commits
git diff <commit1> <commit2> -- path/to/file

# Between commit and working directory
git diff <commit> -- path/to/file

# Between commit and staged
git diff --cached <commit> -- path/to/file

Show File Content at Specific Commit

git show <commit>:path/to/file

Undo Operations

Undo Last Commit (Keep Changes)

git reset --soft HEAD^

Undo Last Commit (Discard Changes)

git reset --hard HEAD^

Restore File to Last Committed Version

git checkout HEAD -- path/to/file

Unstage File

git reset HEAD -- path/to/file

Status and Inspection

Repository Status

git status
git status --short

Show Staged Changes

git diff --cached
git diff --cached --name-status

Show Unstaged Changes

git diff
git diff --name-status

Common Patterns

Investigate Accidental Deletion

# 1. Find what was deleted recently
git log --diff-filter=D --name-only -5

# 2. Identify the commit
git show <commit> --name-status

# 3. Recover
git checkout <commit>^ -- <file>

Recover Workflow File Deleted by Commit Workflow

When /commit accidentally deletes a file:

# 1. Check last few commits for deletions
git log --diff-filter=D --name-status -3

# 2. Find the workflow file
git log --diff-filter=D -- "**/*.md" --name-only -5

# 3. Recover from parent of deletion commit
git checkout <commit>^ -- .windsurf/workflows/filename.md

Compare What Changed Between Sessions

# Find commits from today
git log --since="today" --oneline

# Compare start to end
git diff <first_commit> <last_commit> --name-status