Steps to Find a Deleted File in Git

Step 1: Check the Git Log for File History

First, you need to identify when the file was deleted. The git log command can help you see the commit history of the repository, including when files were deleted.

git log --diff-filter=D --summary

This command filters the log to show only the commits where files were deleted (–diff-filter=D) and provides a summary of changes. Look through the output to find the commit where your file was deleted.

Output:

commit 5f5d3b73d9e5a435b1d56f43c6d0d1a7f1f5c9c7
Author: Your Name <you@example.com>
Date:   Tue May 21 10:34:56 2024 -0500

    Removed old config file

 delete mode 100644 config/old_config.yml

In this example, the file config/old_config.yml was deleted in commit 5f5d3b73d9e5a435b1d56f43c6d0d1a7f1f5c9c7.

Step 2: Find the Commit Before Deletion

Once you have identified the commit where the file was deleted, you need to find the state of the repository before this commit. To do this, you can use the git log command to list the commits for the specific file.

git log -- config/old_config.yml

This command shows the commit history of config/old_config.yml. Note the commit hash right before the deletion commit.

Step 3: Restore the Deleted File from a Previous Commit

To restore the deleted file, you can check out the file from the commit before it was deleted. Use the following command, replacing commit-hash with the actual commit hash where the file last existed.

git checkout <commit-hash>^ -- config/old_config.yml

The ^ indicates the parent of the given commit hash, effectively checking out the file from the state just before deletion. This command restores the file to your working directory.

Step 4: Stage and Commit the Restored File

After checking out the deleted file, it will be present in your working directory. You need to add it back to the staging area and commit it to the repository.

git add config/old_config.yml
git commit -m "Restore deleted file config/old_config.yml"

This command stages the restored file and commits it with a message indicating that the file has been restored.

In Software development, it’s not uncommon to accidentally delete a file or realize later that a deleted file is still needed. Fortunately, Git’s powerful version control system makes it possible to locate and recover deleted files from the project’s commit history. This article will guide you through the steps to find and restore deleted files in a Git repository.