How Do I Force “Git Pull” to Overwrite Local Files?

Better Stack Team
Updated on June 21, 2024

To force git pull to overwrite local files, you can use the git reset command along with the --hard option after pulling changes. Here's how you can do it:

Step 1: Pull Changes from Remote

First, pull the changes from the remote repository:

 
git pull

This will fetch the changes from the remote repository and merge them into your local branch.

Step 2: Overwrite Local Files

After pulling changes, if you want to overwrite any local modifications with the changes from the remote repository, you can use git reset --hard HEAD:

 
git reset --hard HEAD

This command will reset your working directory to match the state of the commit referenced by HEAD, discarding any changes you've made since the last commit.

Warning:

Be cautious when using git reset --hard, as it will discard any local changes that have not been committed. Make sure you don't have any important changes that you want to keep before running this command.

Note:

  • It's generally recommended to commit or stash your local changes before using git pull with git reset --hard to avoid losing any important modifications.
  • If you want to force overwrite without affecting your local changes, you can use git stash to temporarily stash your changes, perform git pull, and then apply the changes back using git stash pop or git stash apply.
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