How to Fix Git Recover Deleted Branch with Reflog

In this tutorial, you'll learn about How to Fix Git Recover Deleted Branch with Reflog. We cover key concepts, practical examples, and best practices.

You accidentally deleted a branch with git branch -D and realized you need it back — Git's reflog tracks history of where HEAD pointed, making branch recovery possible.

The Problem

git branch -D feature/my-feature
Deleted branch feature/my-feature (was abc1234).

And you need that branch back.

Step-by-Step Fix

Step 1: Find the lost commit with reflog

git reflog

Expected:

def5678 (HEAD -> main) HEAD@{0}: Branch: renamed refs/heads/feature/my-feature to refs/heads/feature/my-feature
abc1234 HEAD@{1}: commit: Add payment module

The commit abc1234 is where your branch was.

Step 2: Recreate the branch

git branch feature/my-feature abc1234

Step 3: Verify the recovered branch

git log feature/my-feature --oneline -5

Expected:

abc1234 Add payment module
def5678 Fix login bug
...

Step 4: Find dangling commits

If you do not see the commit in reflog:

git fsck --lost-found

Expected:

dangling commit abc1234
dangling blob xyz5678

Recreate the branch from the dangling commit:

git branch recovered-branch abc1234

Step 5: Use git reflog with date filtering

git reflog --date=iso

Find entries before the deletion.

Step 6: Check remote tracking branches

If the branch was pushed:

git checkout --track origin/feature/my-feature

Prevention Tips

• Use git branch -d instead of -D for safety checks
• Push branches to remote regularly
• Set up branch protection on remote
• Use git reflog before garbage collection runs
• Create branch aliases to prevent accidental deletion

Common Mistakes with reflog recover

1. Using return to exit a function early instead of wrapping a pure value in the monad
2. Mixing let bindings with <- bindings in do notation, producing type errors
3. Overlapping type class instances that cause GHC to reject the program with ambiguous dispatch errors

These mistakes appear frequently in real-world GIT code. DodaTech's contributors have identified these patterns through analysis of open-source projects and production systems.

Practice Exercise

Write a pure function that safely divides two integers using Maybe, then test it with edge cases like division by zero and negative numbers.

This exercise reinforces the concepts covered in this guide. Try implementing it before checking online solutions.

FAQ