---
title: "How to recover missing files in the git repo?"  
description: "How to recover missing files in the git repo?"  
author: "Revati S Misra"  
published: 2023-08-21  
updated: 2023-08-23  
canonical: https://www.mindstick.com/forum/159616/how-to-recover-missing-files-in-the-git-repo  
category: "online file server"  
tags: ["file"]  
reading_time: 2 minutes  

---

# How to recover missing files in the git repo?

How to [recover](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/159255/how-to-recover-a-file-deleted-with-python) [missing](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/52138/international-missing-children-s-day-2019-was-observed-on) [files](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/23302/the-importance-and-advantage-of-keeping-your-important-files-on-the-cloud) in the [git](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/337581/how-to-resolve-merge-conflicts-in-git-and-keep-your-repository-clean) repo?

## Replies

### Reply by Aryan Kumar

There are a few ways to recover missing files in a Git repository.

- **Use the** `git checkout` **command:** The `git checkout` command allows you to restore a file to a previous state. To do this, you need to specify the commit hash of the state you want to restore the file to. For example, to restore the file `myfile.txt` to the state it was in at commit hash `abc123`, you would run the following command:

```plaintext
git checkout abc123 myfile.txt
```

- **Use the** `git reflog` **command:** The `git reflog` command shows a history of all the commits that have been made to the repository. This can be helpful if you don't know the commit hash of the state you want to restore the file to. To see the reflog for the file `myfile.txt`, you would run the following command:

```plaintext
git reflog myfile.txt
```

- **Use a third-party tool:** There are a number of third-party tools that can help you recover missing files from a Git repository. Some of these tools include:

   - GitKraken: https://www.gitkraken.com/: A graphical Git client that allows you to view and manage your Git repositories.
   - SmartGit: https://www.syntevo.com/smartgit/: Another graphical Git client with a number of features for recovering missing files.
   - GitLab: https://gitlab.com/: A web-based Git repository hosting service that also offers a number of features for recovering missing files.

The best way to recover missing files in a Git repository depends on the specific situation. If you know the commit hash of the state you want to restore the file to, then the `git checkout` command is the easiest way to do it. If you don't know the commit hash, then you can use the `git reflog` command to find it. If you don't have access to the command line, then you can use a third-party tool like GitKraken or SmartGit.


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Original Source: https://www.mindstick.com/forum/159616/how-to-recover-missing-files-in-the-git-repo

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