How to Restore Deleted Files from Git Staging Area
In the last blog, we saw how files can be removed from the staging area or working directory using git rm. But what if you delete a file from your working directory by mistake and realize it’s still in the staging area?
👉 Can we bring it back? Yes, with the help of the git restore command.
Scenario: File Deleted from Working Directory but Still in Staging
Let’s say we have a file called wrong.txt. We delete it using Linux rm:
rm wrong.txt
Now check:
ls
Output:
# nothing — wrong.txt is gone locally
But when you check Git status:
git status -s
Output:
D wrong.txt
Git still knows about the file because it is staged as deleted.
Restoring the File with git restore
If you want to bring the file back from the staging area into your working directory:
git restore wrong.txt
Check again:
ls
Output:
wrong.txt
✅ The file is restored back to your working directory.
This is especially helpful when you accidentally delete a file locally but haven’t committed the deletion yet.
When to Use git restore
At this stage, we are mainly using git restore to recover files from the staging area back into the working directory.
Later, when we move into the commit process, we’ll revisit this command and see its more advanced use cases (like restoring files from previous commits). Click Here to See Full tutorials on Git Resotre
🚀 Don’t Miss Out!
Now you know how to safely remove files from Git’s staging area and working directory. In the next blog, we’ll learn how to recover files from Git after accidental removal.
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👉 Watch this video explanation
Stay curious, keep coding, and let’s master Git together! 🎉