How to recover deleted branch in Bitbucket
Dealing with deleted branches in Bitbucket can be a challenging situation, especially when the branch contained important code or changes. However, there are several methods you can use to recover a deleted branch in Bitbucket. In this article, we will discuss the steps to recover a deleted branch and some best practices to prevent such situations in the future.
1. Check the Bitbucket trash
The first step in recovering a deleted branch in Bitbucket is to check the trash. Bitbucket automatically moves deleted branches to the trash, where they remain for a certain period before being permanently deleted. To access the trash, follow these steps:
1. Log in to your Bitbucket account.
2. Navigate to the repository where the deleted branch was located.
3. Click on the “Settings” gear icon on the top right corner of the page.
4. Select “Branch settings” from the dropdown menu.
5. In the “Branch settings” page, click on the “Branch trash” tab.
6. You will see a list of deleted branches. If your deleted branch is present, you can restore it by clicking the “Restore” button next to it.
2. Use the “git checkout” command
If the deleted branch is not in the trash or you have already emptied it, you can try using the “git checkout” command to recover the branch. This method assumes that you have a local copy of the branch on your machine. Here’s how to do it:
1. Clone the repository to a local directory using the following command:
“`
git clone
“`
2. Navigate to the local directory using the following command:
“`
cd
“`
3. Check out the deleted branch using the following command:
“`
git checkout
“`
4. Push the recovered branch back to Bitbucket using the following command:
“`
git push origin
“`
3. Restore from a backup
If you have a backup of the repository, you can restore the deleted branch from the backup. This method is useful if you have a version control system like Git LFS or if you regularly backup your repositories. Here’s how to restore a branch from a backup:
1. Restore the repository from the backup to a new directory.
2. Navigate to the new directory using the following command:
“`
cd
“`
3. Check out the deleted branch using the following command:
“`
git checkout
“`
4. Push the recovered branch back to Bitbucket using the following command:
“`
git push origin
“`
4. Prevent future deletions
To avoid future deletions of important branches, it’s essential to implement some best practices:
1. Regularly backup your repositories.
2. Use a version control system like Git LFS to prevent accidental loss of large files.
3. Communicate with your team about the importance of branches and the consequences of deleting them.
4. Implement a code review process to ensure that only well-tested and reviewed code is merged into the main branch.
By following these steps and best practices, you can recover deleted branches in Bitbucket and minimize the risk of losing important code.
