Recovering Lost Git Commits: 12 Fixes for Common Mistakes

A developer guide explains how to recover commits that appear lost after common Git errors, such as resets, deleted branches, or commits made on the wrong branch. The central tool is the reflog, which records past positions of HEAD and branch tips, so commits are usually only unreachable rather than gone. The guide notes that reflog entries expire, with defaults of 90 days or 30 days for unreachable commits, and that unreachable objects can be pruned by git gc after two weeks, making prompt action important. It is based on tests run on Git 2.56.0 in throwaway repositories. Fixes are provided for scenarios including accidental hard resets, deleted branches, detached HEAD commits, and merge or rebase mistakes.