Difference Between Git RM --Cached and Git Reset File

This article discusses the difference between the git rm --cached and the git reset<file> commands. We will discuss the function of each command in a fit to catch the differences between the two.

Difference Between git rm --cached and git reset<file>

For easier context, we will explore what each command can accomplish and then analyze the different outputs the two commands display. Let’s jump right in.

the git rm --cached Command

At times, Git can give you the suggestion below after running the git status command.

$ git status
On branch master

No commits yet

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

	new file:   .env

Let us try to unstage the .env file using the rm option. We will run the following:

$ git rm --cached .env

Let us run the git status command to check out the state of our working directory.

$ git status

Output:

From the output above, we can see that our .env file was deleted but remains under untracked files. Let’s see what the git reset<file> command will do.

the git reset <file> Command

We will run the git reset command as shown below:

$ git reset HEAD .env

We can now run the git status command to checkout our working tree.

$ git status

Output:

From the output above, we can see that the git reset <file> command has done away with the modifications done to the file.

The git rm --cached command stages a file for removal but keeps the file untracked. On the other hand, the git reset <file> command will only unstage a file.

The git rm --cached option is ideal when you want to unstage an untracked file without modifying the working tree. The counterpart command, git reset <file> will reset the index and not the working tree.

In a nutshell, the git rm --cached command will remove paths in the index and leave them untracked, while the git rest<file> command will reset only the index. Use the git rm --cached command with untracked files.