How to undo the initial commit on a remote repository in git?

Question

If my very first commit is wrong, yet pushed to a (currently private) remote, how do I undo that commit on the remote?

I'm guessing I can just amend and then push --force?

It's rare to really need to wipe out a commit. Just add other commits that fix your repo and brings it to the state you want it to be. (Unless of course you've done something like committed and pushed up passwords or the like). — dkinzer, Sep 18 '13 at 14:23
I agree with @dkinzer The operation in the answer works, but it is one of those operations that you should have a clear answer as to why you are using versus just adding a new commit. As with any destructive operation. — usumoio, Sep 18 '13 at 15:06
possible duplicate of [How to revert initial git commit?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6632191/how-to-revert-initial-git-commit) — Maic López Sáenz, Sep 19 '13 at 13:34

score 20 · Answer 1 · answered Sep 19 '13 at 13:39

20

By deleting your HEAD you can restore your repository to a new state, where you can create a new initial commit:

git update-ref -d HEAD

After you create a new commit you will need to force it to the remote in order to overwrite the previous initial commit:

git push --force origin

answered Sep 19 '13 at 13:39

Getting `remote: error: denying non-fast-forward refs/heads/master (you should pull first)` – sigy Jan 16 '17 at 11:13
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10544139/how-to-force-push-a-reset-to-remote-repository – sigy Jan 16 '17 at 11:26
4

error: src refspec refs/heads/master does not match any. error: failed to push some refs – Alexey Sh. Feb 25 '19 at 20:51

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 18 '13 at 14:16

1

If you've just one commit (initial commit), you can do as

git commit --amend
git push --force origin

answered Sep 18 '13 at 14:16

TheKojuEffect

2

You'll need a `git add` up front if you're actually adding or modifying files to the commit (as opposed to just fixing the message). – Christopher Sep 18 '13 at 14:43
fatal: You have nothing to amend. – Alexey Sh. Feb 25 '19 at 20:52

2 Answers2