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Recover a Deleted Git Branch

Find the tip in the local HEAD reflog, then recreate the branch ref at that commit.

Goal​

Restore a branch deleted with git branch -d or git branch -D while its tip is still in the local object database.

Why deletion is reversible​

git branch -D removes the name under .git/refs/heads/. It does not delete the commits those names pointed at. The objects stay in the database until garbage collection prunes unreachable tips.

The branch's own log under .git/logs/refs/heads/ usually disappears with the name. Recovery depends on the HEAD reflog, which still records checkouts that moved onto or off that branch. Those entries keep the tip hash you need.

If you never checked the branch out in this clone, the local HEAD reflog has no footprint to search. Use a remote that still has the tip, closed pull-request metadata, or another clone that did check it out.

Recover the branch​

List recent HEAD movements:

git reflog

Find the last tip of the deleted branch. Checkout lines often look like checkout: moving from feature/login to main. The hash on that line is the tip of feature/login at the moment you left it.

Recreate the name at that commit:

git branch feature/login abc1234

Or check it out in one step:

git switch -c feature/login abc1234

Confirm the tip and recent history:

git log --oneline -5 feature/login

The new ref makes those commits reachable again. Push when you need the branch on a remote:

git push -u origin feature/login

When this fails​

Local recovery needs a local record of the tip. These cases do not provide one:

  • The branch existed only on a hosting service and was never checked out here.
  • The branch tip was merged through a remote pull request without a local checkout of that branch.
  • The matching reflog entry expired and git gc already pruned the unreachable objects.

In the remote-only cases, open the closed pull request or hosting UI and copy the head commit hash, then run git branch <name> <hash> after fetching that object if needed. Hosting platforms do not share their internal reflogs with git fetch.

Act before retention windows lapse. Unreachable reflog entries default to about 30 days under gc.reflogExpireUnreachable. After prune, the tip is gone from this clone.