Rollback command (Team Foundation Version Control)

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You can use this command to roll back the effects of one or more changesets to one or more version-controlled items. This command does not remove the changesets from an item's version history. Instead, this command creates in your workspace a set of pending changes that negate the effects of the changesets that you specify.

Prerequisites

To use this command, you must have the Read, Check Out, and Check In permissions set to Allow. For more information, see Default TFVC permissions.

Syntax

tf rollback /toversion:VersionSpec ItemSpec [/recursive] [/lock:none|checkin|checkout] [/version:versionspec] [/keepmergehistory] [/login:username,[password]] [/noprompt]

tf rollback /changeset:ChangesetFrom~ChangesetTo [ItemSpec] [/recursive] [/lock:none|checkin|checkout] [/version:VersionSpec]
[/keepmergehistory] [/noprompt] [/login:username,[password]]

Parameters

Argument

Option

Remarks

The tf rollback command negates the effect of each changeset that you specify for each item that you specify. The following table lists how the operation negates each kind of change.

The following list provides some examples of changes that result from the rollback command:

• If you are rolling back a changeset in which an add change occurred, the rollback operation causes a rollback change and a delete change.

• If you are rolling back changeset 521 in which an edit change occurred, the rollback operation causes a rollback change and an edit change that negates the changes encompassed by the edit change in changeset 521.

• In changeset 132, you merged from $/BranchA/File1.txt to $/BranchB/File1.txt. The changes included in that merge included edit changes in changesets 92 and 104. In changeset 162, you roll back changeset 132, which results in a rollback change and an edit change to $/BranchB/File1.txt that negates the edit changes in changesets 92 and 104.

Exit Codes

The exit codes in the following table appear after you run the tf rollback command.

Examples

The following example negates the effect of changeset 23 on all items that were changed in that changeset.

c:\workspace> tf rollback /changeset:C23

The following example negates the effect of changeset 23 on the file a.txt.

c:\workspace> tf rollback /changeset:C23 a.txt

The following example changes the content of a.txt to match the version that was checked in with changeset 23.

c:\workspace> tf rollback /toversion:C23 a.txt

The following example changes the content of OurTeamProject to match the last changeset that was applied on or before midnight on August 31, 2009.

c:\workspace> tf rollback /toversion:D08/31/2009 /recursive $/OurTeamProject/

Example: /keepmergehistory Option

When you roll back a changeset that includes a branch or a merge change, you usually want future merges between the same source and the same target to include those changes. However, you can use the /keepmergehistory option if you want future merges between the same source and the same target to exclude changesets that were encompassed in a past merge operation.

For example, you can use this command in the following situation:

1. In On June 30, 2009, you perform a full merge of all items from $/BranchA/ to $/BranchB/:

   c:\workspace> tf merge $/BranchA $/BranchB
   

   You check in this merge as part of changeset 292.

2. In July, you make several changes $/BranchA/Util.cs. These changes are encompassed in changesets 297, 301, and 305.

3. On August 1, 2009, you merge $/BranchA/Util.cs to $/BranchB/Util.cs:

   c:\workspace> tf merge $/BranchA/Util.cs $/BranchB/Util.cs
   

   You check in the change as part of changeset 314. The result of this operation is that the edits that you made in changesets 297, 301, and 305 to $/BranchA/Util.cs are now also applied to $/BranchB/Util.cs.

4. A week later, you realize that the edits that you made to $/BranchA/Util.cs in July are not appropriate for $/BranchB/Util.cs. You can use the rollback command to negate these changes. When you use the rollback command to roll back a merge change or a branch change, you have a decision to make.

   • If you want the changes that you made in July to $/BranchA/Util.cs to be re-applied to $/BranchB/Util.cs in future merges, you should type the following command:

     c:\workspace> tf rollback /changeset:314
     

   • If you want the changes that you made in July to $/BranchA/Util.cs to never be re-applied to $/BranchB/Util.cs in future merges, you should type the following command:

     c:\workspace> tf rollback /changeset:314 /keepmergehistory
     

5. A few weeks later, you merge $/BranchA/ into $/BranchB/:

   c:\workspace> tf merge $/BranchA $/BranchB
   

   • If you omitted the /keepmergehistory option, the merge change will apply to $/BranchB/Util.cs all changesets that were applied to $/BranchA/Util.cs since changeset 292, including changesets 297, 301, 305. In other words, a future merge will undo the rollback change.

   • If you included the /keepmergehistory option, the merge operation will apply to $/BranchB/Util.cs all changesets that were applied to $/BranchA/Util.cs since changeset 292, excluding changesets 297, 301, and 305. In other words, a future merge will not undo the rollback change. Therefore, the content on BranchA might not match the content on BranchB.

Related articles

• Use Team Foundation version control commands
• Merge Command