Efficient Steps to Restore a Deleted Branch on GitHub- A Comprehensive Guide

How to recover a deleted branch in GitHub is a common concern among developers who may accidentally delete a branch containing important code or commits. Losing a branch can be frustrating, but there are several methods you can use to recover it. In this article, we will explore the different ways to restore a deleted branch in GitHub and help you get back to your project without any loss of data.

Before we dive into the recovery methods, it is essential to understand that GitHub does not provide an automatic way to recover deleted branches. However, there are several workarounds you can try to get your branch back. Let’s discuss each method in detail.

1. Check the GitHub web interface:

One of the first things you should do is check the GitHub web interface for any traces of the deleted branch. Sometimes, the branch might still be listed in the repository’s branches section, even though it is no longer accessible through the GitHub Desktop client. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your GitHub account and navigate to the repository where the branch was deleted.
2. Go to the “Branches” tab.
3. Look for the deleted branch in the list of branches. If you find it, click on the branch name to view its commits.

If you can see the deleted branch in the list, you can create a new branch from the last commit of the deleted branch. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click on the “Create new branch” button on the top right corner of the branch list.
2. Enter the name of the new branch (it should be the same as the deleted branch) and click “Create branch.” This will create a new branch that contains all the commits from the deleted branch.

2. Use the GitHub Desktop client:

GitHub Desktop offers a “Branches” section where you can view all branches, including deleted ones. If you have the GitHub Desktop client installed, follow these steps to recover your deleted branch:

1. Open the GitHub Desktop client and select the repository where the branch was deleted.
2. Go to the “Branches” section.
3. Scroll down to the “Deleted branches” section. You should see the deleted branch listed there.
4. Right-click on the deleted branch and select “Restore.” This will restore the branch to your local repository.
5. Push the branch to GitHub by clicking the “Push” button in the upper-right corner of the GitHub Desktop client.

3. Use Git commands:

If you have access to the terminal or command prompt, you can use Git commands to recover your deleted branch. Here’s how:

1. Open the terminal or command prompt and navigate to the repository’s directory.
2. Use the following command to list all deleted branches:
3. git ls-remote –refs –exit-code origin refs/heads/
4. Look for the deleted branch in the list of branches. Once you find it, use the following command to restore the branch:
5. git checkout -b [branch-name] [commit-hash]
6. Replace [branch-name] with the name of the deleted branch and [commit-hash] with the commit hash of the last commit in the deleted branch.
7. Push the branch to GitHub by running the following command:
8. git push origin [branch-name]

By following these methods, you should be able to recover a deleted branch in GitHub and continue working on your project without any loss of data. Remember to double-check your branches before deleting them to avoid such situations in the future.