# Git: How to Fully Undo a git add Before Committing

> Run git reset with no arguments to unstage every file, or git reset <file> to unstage one specific file, before it gets included in your next commit

**URL:** https://sentry.io/answers/undo-git-add-before-commit/

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## The Problem

I've accidentally staged extra files in my Git repository. How do I undo a `git add` before running `git commit`?

## The Solution

To unstage files, use [`git reset`](https://git-scm.com/docs/git-reset). Without arguments, this will unstage all changes to all files. To unstage a specific file, provide its name as an argument (e.g. `git reset exclude.md`).

For example, let's say we've staged changes for a couple of `.md` files in our repository, and we want to exclude one of them. First, we run [`git status`](https://git-scm.com/docs/git-status), and get the following output:

```
On branch dev

No commits yet

Changes to be committed:
  (use "git rm --cached <file>..." to unstage)
	new file:   exclude.md
	new file:   include.md
```

Then we run `git reset exclude.md` to unstage `exclude.md`. Our `git status` output will now look like this:

```
On branch dev

No commits yet

Changes to be committed:
  (use "git rm --cached <file>..." to unstage)
	new file:   include.md

Untracked files:
  (use "git add <file>..." to include in what will be committed)
	exclude.md
```

`exclude.md` has been unstaged and will no longer be in our next commit.

As per the instructions in the `git status` output, we could also have used `git rm --cached exclude.md` to unstage the file.

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*Source: [sentry.io/answers/undo-git-add-before-commit/](https://sentry.io/answers/undo-git-add-before-commit/)*