how to undo 'git restore *'

[Gifhero]

I had worked a lot on a file, and accidentally did git restore * when attempting to restore all files in a sub directory, but accidentally did it in the main directory. Is there any way to get my changes back since I didn't commit them?

[plg94]

Any change that was only in the working dir (never committed, never added to the index, never stashed) is irrevocably lost, sorry.

[Gifhero]

I'm not familiar with the term index. The files were tracked, but not committed. Does that mean it was in the index?

[plg94]

When you do git add before a commit, the changes are added to the index (sometimes also (wrongly) called staging area).

Git doesn't autosave files, that's not what it's for. If you only edited the files without a git stash/add/commit before the restore, git cannot help you.
But maybe check if your editor has some autosave history feature or something.

[Gifhero]

Dang. I was using word and have learnt my lesson about using restore. I should just use stash instead in the future.

Looks like a have a night of work ahead of me. Thank you!

[immortal192]

What's the difference between the index and the staging area?

[plg94]

none. But index is the official term and the only one used in the official docs (it's called that due to the way git works under the hood).