How to Reset a GitHub Repository and Start Fresh: Step-by-Step Guide

In this comprehensive guide, I’ll walk you through the process of completely removing all files and commit history from a GitHub repository while keeping the repository itself intact. Whether you want a fresh start or need to restructure your project, this guide offers clear, easy-to-follow steps for cleaning up your repository, creating a clean slate, and adding new files to your project. Follow along to reset your GitHub repo, manage branches, and ensure a smooth workflow.

If you want to completely remove all files and commits from the repository while keeping the repository itself, you can follow these steps:

Steps to remove all files and commits from a GitHub repository:

1. Clone the repository locally & open your terminal and run:

git clone https://github.com/username/YourProject.git

cd YourProject

2. Create an orphan branch: This will create a new branch without any history of commits.

git checkout --orphan new-branch

3. Remove all files: Delete all the files from the working directory.

git rm -rf .

4. Commit the changes: Make a new commit with the removed files.

git commit --allow-empty -m "Initial clean commit"

5. Delete old branches: You need to delete the main or master branch and replace it with the new one.

git branch -D master  # or main

git branch -m master  # rename 'new-branch' to 'master'

6. Force push the changes to GitHub: This will overwrite the repository history on GitHub.

git push --force origin master    # or main

This will delete all files and commits from the GitHub repository, effectively resetting it while keeping the repository intact.

Add new files and code to your repository, follow these steps:

1. Add new files to your project directory:

You can manually create or copy files into the folder on your local machine.

2. Stage the new files for commit:

Once you’ve added or modified files, use the following command to stage them:

git add .

This stages all changes, including new files, modified files, and deletions.

3. Commit the changes:

After staging the files, commit them with a meaningful message:

git commit -m "Add new files and code"

4. Push the changes to GitHub:

Push the committed changes to the main branch (or whatever your active branch is) on GitHub:

git push origin main

Example Workflow:

If you added a new file index.html, your commands would look like this:

git add index.html  # Stage the new file
git commit -m "Added index.html"  # Commit the file
git push origin main  # Push the changes to GitHub

Let me know if you need help with a specific step!