Scenario:

You have a Git repository at /home/interview/repo where you were in a detached HEAD state, made 3 commits, then switched back to the main branch. Those 3 commits are now unreachable and appear to be lost since no branch references them.

Task:

Navigate to the repository at /home/interview/repo, check the reflog to locate the lost commits from the detached HEAD state, create a new branch called recovered-work pointing to those commits.

Example:

# Before (commits lost, only main visible)
$ git log --oneline -3
c3d4e5f Main branch work
b2c3d4e Second commit
a1b2c3d Initial commit

$ git branch
* main

# After (commits recovered in new branch)
$ git branch
* main
  recovered-work

$ git log recovered-work --oneline -3
f6a7b8c Third detached commit
e5f6a7b Second detached commit
d4e5f6a First detached commit

Step 1: Navigate to the repository

cd /home/interview/repo

Navigate to the Git repository.

Step 2: View current commit history

git log --oneline -5

See commits on main (missing the detached commits).

Step 3: Identify lost commit hash

git reflog

Find the hash of the last commit before switching to main.

Step 4: Check commit history from that point

git log <commit-hash> --oneline -5

See the 3 detached commits.

Step 5: Create recovery branch

git branch recovered-work <commit-hash>

Create a new branch pointing to the lost commits.