This post goes over how to update a git commit with amend or rebase:
Amend
Updating the most recent commit is very simple with amend:
git commit --amend
This will open the editor with the option to modify the commit message.
If you want to keep the same commit message and not open the editor:
git commit --amend --no-edit
With amend, you can even change metadata information like the author and/or date:
git commit --amend --author="Name <[email protected]>"
Rebase
If the commit is not recent, then you want to use rebase.
First, you’ll want to list out the commits to be interactively rebased:
git rebase -i HEAD~3 # last 3 commits from HEAD
A hash is also accepted:
git rebase -i hash123^ # commits from hash123 to HEAD
The editor will open and change pick to edit for the commit(s) you plan to modify.
Amend the commit:
git commit --amend
And continue:
git rebase --continue
If merge conflicts arise, resolve them. Keep going until the rebase is finished.
Otherwise, you can abort it if you changed your mind or made a mistake:
git rebase --abort
One final note, if the commits are already pushed to a remote branch, it’s advisable not to amend them becase a force push is required to update the branch, which will cause conflicts for collaborators.