This AZ-400 practice question tests your understanding of design and implement a source control strategy. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
You are debugging a recent issue introduced in the main branch. Based on the exhibit, which command would you run to revert the 'Fix login bug' commit while preserving the merge commit?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "which command"
Why it matters: Tests specific CLI syntax. Recall the exact command and its required context — near-synonyms and partial matches are common distractors.
git revert -m 1 HEAD
Why wrong: For reverting a merge commit, not a regular commit.
git reset --hard HEAD~1
Why wrong: Removes history.
git revert HEAD
Creates a new commit reverting the top commit.
git revert c3a2b1e -m 2
Why wrong: -m is for merge commits.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
git revert HEAD
Option C is correct because `git revert HEAD` creates a new commit that undoes the changes introduced by the most recent commit (the merge commit), without altering the existing commit history. This preserves the merge commit and its parent relationships, which is essential when reverting a merge commit while keeping the branch structure intact.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
git revert -m 1 HEAD
Why it's wrong here
For reverting a merge commit, not a regular commit.
git reset --hard HEAD~1
Why it's wrong here
Removes history.
git revert HEAD
Why this is correct
Creates a new commit reverting the top commit.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "which command" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
git revert c3a2b1e -m 2
Why it's wrong here
-m is for merge commits.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse `git revert` with `git reset`, assuming a revert removes history, or they incorrectly apply the `-m` flag without understanding that the default behavior already handles merge commits by reverting the entire merge's changes.
Detailed technical explanation
When reverting a merge commit, `git revert` with the `-m` flag specifies which parent to keep (1 for mainline, 2 for the merged branch), but the default behavior without `-m` is to revert the entire merge commit as a single change, which is appropriate when you want to undo the merge's effect without altering history. Under the hood, `git revert` applies the inverse of the merge's diff against the current tree, creating a new commit that neutralizes the merge's changes while preserving the DAG (Directed Acyclic Graph) structure. In real-world scenarios, this is critical for CI/CD pipelines where history must remain immutable for audit trails or rollback automation.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
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FAQ
Design and implement a source control strategy — This question tests Design and implement a source control strategy — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: git revert HEAD — Option C is correct because `git revert HEAD` creates a new commit that undoes the changes introduced by the most recent commit (the merge commit), without altering the existing commit history. This preserves the merge commit and its parent relationships, which is essential when reverting a merge commit while keeping the branch structure intact.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "which command". Tests specific CLI syntax. Recall the exact command and its required context — near-synonyms and partial matches are common distractors.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 25, 2026
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