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reflog

reflog

1 9.9
A record that shows recent changes to branches and HEAD in Git
  • noun
  • Jargon
translation icon : reflog
  • By checking the reflog, you can see all the recent changes made to your branches in Git.

Examples

  • However, it's worth noting that the old history is probably still available in your reflog and in other people's clones.

    Blog text (14)
  • The first time you make a mistake and need to go back to your reflog to fix it, that's not as easy as it should be.

    Blog text (14)
  • Tags and reflog may be ignored.

    Blog text (14)
  • Push: mirror can destroy refs, another kind of data (the reflog may only store hashes, but not the actual names of refs, which can be useful metadata).

    Blog text (14)
  • Keep using Git, and more concepts will occasionally drop out of the sky: refs, tags, the reflog, fast-forward commits, detached head state, remote branches, tracking, namespaces.

    Blog text (14)
  • The reflog provides a detailed history of the modifications applied to the project's references.

  • After mistakenly deleting a branch, I retrieved it easily using the reflog for reference tracking.

How Detailed

reflog
  • Jargon
1 9.9
what's new
3 3.4
news item
  • Literature
12 2.0
announcement
738 1.5

Surface Forms

reflog singular
reflogs plural

Morphology

reflog = ref + log (semi-transparent) = ref + log

The meaning 'reference log' is compositional, but 'ref' is a clipped/informal form that may not be obvious to all learners.

Etymology

Reflog comes from ref which is short for reference and log which means a 'record' like a 'logbook', so the reflog records changes to 'references'. That's why the reflog shows recent updates to branches and 'HEAD' in Git.