How To undo a git add operation (unstage files)

To undo a git add operation (unstage files), the recommended command is git restore --staged. This moves changes from the staging area back to the working directory without losing any modifications. 

Recommended Method: git restore --staged 

This command is the preferred method in modern Git (versions 2.23+) because it is more intuitive and safer for this specific task. 

• Unstage a specific file:
  bash

  git restore --staged <filename>
  

  (Replace <filename> with the actual name of your file, e.g., git restore --staged index.html).
• Unstage all files:
  bash

  git restore --staged .

Alternative Method: git reset 

Before git restore was introduced, the git reset command was used to unstage files, and it still works. 

• Unstage a specific file:
  bash

  git reset <filename>
  

• Unstage all files:
  bash

  git reset