Changing Releases and Tags on GitHub to a Different Commit

I recently came across a situation where I accidentally created a release on GitHub, pointed at a specific tag which was tagged to a commit. I fixed the changes, committed, but wanted the release to point to the new commit instead of the old one with the error. Unfortunately, GitHub doesn't have a way to do this online, but it can be done through a combination of command line git and the GitHub website.

First, make sure your repo is up-to-date with "git fetch." This will pull down the tag you made, including the wrong one.

git fetch

Next, delete the old tag by running:

git tag -d [tag-name-here]

So, for example, I did:

git tag -d v1.1.0

Next, commit and push your latest changes including the change you want the release to point to:

git add folder/file

git commit -m "message here"

git push -u origin master

Finally, push your tag changes as well:

git push origin :[tag-name-here]

If your tag has the same name as a branch, run:

git push origin :refs/tags/[tag-name-here]

Now, open GitHub in your browser and navigate to the "releases" page. Your release should now be listed as a "Draft" because its tag has been deleted.

You can now discard this release and create a new one with the same name pointed at the most recent commit.