How do you roll back (reset) a Git repository to a particular commit?

Sometimes, things go wrong and you just want to hit "undo" in your Git project. Luckily, Git provides several ways to roll back or reset your repository to a previous commit — but each has different consequences, so it’s important to choose the right one for your situation.

 1. git reset – for local undo

If you haven’t pushed your changes yet, and want to completely remove commits:

  git reset --hard 

• This moves your branch pointer to a previous commit.
  
• --hard also changes the working directory and index.
  
•  Be careful: this deletes any changes after that commit!
  

If you want to keep changes in your working directory:

  git reset --soft 

 2. git revert – for safe, undoable changes

If you've already pushed your changes and others are working on the repo:

  git revert 

• This creates a new commit that undoes the changes.
  
• It's safe for collaborative work because it doesn’t rewrite history.
  

 3. git checkout or git switch – for exploring

If you just want to see an older state:

  git checkout 

or:

  git switch --detach 

• This puts you in a "detached HEAD" state to browse or test older commits without affecting anything.