When working with Git, you may occasionally encounter a situation where your local changes conflict with the latest version on the remote branch. If you want to completely discard your local changes and sync with the remote, you may need to force pull.
In this guide, we’ll explain what a force pull is, when to use it, and how to do it safely.
❓ What Is a Force Pull?
A force pull in Git means discarding your local changes and syncing your branch exactly with the remote repository — even if it overwrites your local work. It’s typically done in two steps:
git fetch– Retrieves the latest changes from the remote.git reset --hard origin/<branch-name>– Resets your local branch to match the remote branch exactly.
⚠️ When Should You Use a Force Pull?
Use force pull only when:
- You want to throw away all local changes (committed and uncommitted).
- You are certain the remote branch has the correct version.
- You’re troubleshooting a corrupted or outdated local branch.
Warning: This will erase all uncommitted work and may cause loss of data. Use with caution.
🛠️ How to Force Pull in Git
Step 1: Fetch the Latest Code
git fetch origin
This updates your local copy of the remote branches without changing your working directory.
Step 2: Reset Your Local Branch
git reset --hard origin/main
Replace main with your target branch name (e.g., develop, feature-x).
This command forces your local branch to match the remote exactly, removing any local commits and changes.
✅ Alternative (Quick One-Liner)
git fetch origin && git reset --hard origin/main
This combines both steps into one command.
🧹 Clean Untracked Files (Optional)
If you also want to delete untracked files or directories:
git clean -fd
-f: force delete-d: delete directories
🧠 Summary
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
| Fetch latest changes | git fetch origin |
| Force reset to remote branch | git reset --hard origin/main |
| Remove untracked files | git clean -fd |
🏁 Conclusion
Force pulling in Git is a powerful way to reset your local branch to match the remote, but it should be used sparingly and with care. Always make sure you have a backup or are ready to lose local changes before executing a force pull.
