Git Command Builder

Stop guessing which git command to run

Git has one flaw that trips up nearly everyone: the command you need rarely matches the words in your head. You want to 'undo the last commit', but git wants 'reset --soft HEAD~1'. You want to 'take that fix from the other branch', but git wants 'cherry-pick'. This builder closes that gap. You describe the goal in plain English, and it hands you the exact command - plus a one-line explanation of what it does before you press enter.

Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere. The commands are generated locally from a fixed set of correct git patterns, so you get the same answer offline that you would get online.

The commands most people get wrong

• Undo the last commit: git reset --soft HEAD~1 keeps your changes staged; --mixed unstages them; --hard destroys them. The word 'undo' hides three very different outcomes.
• Change a commit message: git commit --amend rewrites the last commit - safe only before you push, because it changes the commit hash.
• Undo a commit that is already pushed: use git revert, not reset. Revert makes a new commit that cancels the old one, so shared history stays intact.
• Move a fix between branches: git cherry-pick <hash> copies one commit; it does not move the whole branch.
• Throw away uncommitted edits: git restore <file> or git restore . - this is unrecoverable, so it is flagged as destructive above.

How to read the destructive warning

Some git operations delete work permanently. This tool flags them with a red warning: reset --hard and restore both throw away uncommitted changes with no undo. Before running either, the safe move is to commit what you have (even to a throwaway commit) or run git stash. Committed work can usually be recovered from the reflog for a few weeks; uncommitted work that you discard is gone the instant you press enter.

Using this with Claude Code

Claude Code can run git for you, but it is worth knowing what it is about to do. A good pattern is to ask Claude to explain the plan first: 'walk me through the git commands you would run to undo the last two commits but keep the changes, and stop before running anything'. Then check its plan against the command this builder gives you. When the two agree, let it run. When they disagree, you have caught a mistake before it touched your history.

A safety habit that pays for itself

1. Before any history-rewriting command (reset, amend, rebase), note your current commit hash with git rev-parse HEAD so you can always get back.
2. Prefer restore and switch over the older checkout - they are the modern, less-ambiguous commands for the same jobs.
3. On any branch other people pull from, never force-push a rewrite unless you have coordinated it. Use revert instead.
4. When a command feels scary, run git status and git log --oneline -5 first so you know exactly what state you are in.
5. Learn git reflog. It is the safety net that lets you recover 'lost' commits after a bad reset - as long as the work was committed.