How can I unstage my files again after making a local commit?

Question

I have executed the following command

git add <foo.java>
git commit -m "add the foo.java file"

How can I delete my local commit now and unstage foo.java?

If I type git reset --hard, I found that it reverts my modified foo.java to the original one.

Answer

git reset --soft HEAD~1 should do what you want. After this, you'll have the first changes in the index (visible with git diff --cached), and your newest changes not staged. git status will then look like this:

# On branch master
# Changes to be committed:
#   (use "git reset HEAD <file>..." to unstage)
#
#       modified:   foo.java
#
# Changes not staged for commit:
#   (use "git add <file>..." to update what will be committed)
#   (use "git checkout -- <file>..." to discard changes in working directory)
#
#       modified:   foo.java
#

You can then do git add foo.java and commit both changes at once.

See what's in a stash without applying it

How to "git pull" from master into the development branch