The reflog records recent local reference movements. It can help recover a commit after an accidental reset even when no branch name points to it. The entries are local evidence, not a remote backup guarantee. Inspect the lost commit, create a recovery branch or restore the intended reference, and verify its files. These tasks deliberately discard a branch tip during setup, then ask you to recover that exact unpublished work from the retained reference history. After a reset, HEAD@{1} commonly names the previous position, but later movements change that index. Inspect the entries before acting. Name the recovered commit promptly so another navigation step cannot make it confusing.