The last one is always available via `git checkout -` and if you want to do more you can do `git checkout @{4}` etc. . It will also show up in `git log --reflog`. I honestly don't see the problem with naming things. Typing a chosen name is just so much more convenient than looking up the commit hash, even when you only need to type the unique prefix. When I don't want to think of a name yet, I just do "git tag a, b, c, ..."

I also tend to have the builtin GUI log equivalent (gitk) open. This has the behaviour, that no commit vanishes on refresh, even when it isn't on a branch anymore. To stop showing a commit you need to do a hard reload. This automatically puts the commit currently selected into the clipboard selection, so all you need to do is press Insert in the terminal.

> It sounds like a ton of work, though, especially if it's going to be a transition from having the current ref storage be the source of truth to making the operation log the source of truth.

I don't think that needs to be implemented like this. The only thing you need to do is recording the list of commands and program a resolver that outputs the inverse command of any given command.