Git Option: --force vs --force-with-lease

Table of Contents

Git Option: –force vs –force-with-lease

When pushing changes to a remote repository in Git, you may encounter situations where you need to overwrite existing commits. Git provides two options for this purpose: --force and --force-with-lease. Understanding the differences between these options is crucial to avoid unintended consequences.

Feature --force (or -f) --force-with-lease
Overwrites remote commits Yes, unconditionally Yes, but safely
Checks remote state No Yes, verifies remote hasn’t changed
Risk of data loss High - may lose others’ work Low - prevents overwriting others’ commits
Use case Force push when you control the repo Safer default for collaborative work
Command git push --force git push --force-with-lease
Requires verification Manual review needed Automatic safety check
Best practice Use with caution, especially in teams Recommended for team environments
When failed No failure, always push succeeds Push fails if remote has new commits

It’s better to use --force-with-lease even if you’re working on a personal branch to make it your habit.

When to Use Each

Use --force when:

  • You’re working on a personal branch
  • You’ve confirmed no one else is pushing to the branch
  • You need absolute control over the push

Use --force-with-lease when:

  • Working in a team environment
  • You want protection against accidentally overwriting others’ changes
  • You need a safer force push option

Example Scenario of --force-with-lease Failing

  • Person A’s local branch: feature/new-feature at commit abc123
  • Remote branch: feature/new-feature at commit abc123
  • Person B pushes: A new commit def456 to remote feature/new-feature
  • Person A attempts: git push --force-with-lease

Result: ❌ Push fails with error:

error: failed to push some refs to 'origin'
hint: Updates were rejected because the tip of your current branch is behind
hint: its remote counterpart. If you are integrating with upstream changes
hint: you may want to first integrate the remote changes
hint: (e.g., 'git pull ...') before pushing again.

Person A’s --force-with-lease detects that the remote has changed since their last fetch and safely prevents the overwrite of Person B’s commit def456.