Resolving git rebase conflicts

Rebasing in Git is a technique that can help streamline your commit history, making it easier to understand and manage. However, when performing a rebase, you may sometimes encounter conflicts. Rebase conflicts happen when Git is unable to automatically reconcile changes from different branches. This guide will walk you through the steps to handle conflicts during a Git rebase.

Understanding rebase conflicts

A rebase conflict arises when Git attempts to reapply commits on top of another branch's base and encounters discrepancies that it cannot resolve on its own. This typically occurs when changes in the branch you’re rebasing are in conflict with changes in the target branch.

Steps to resolve conflicts during a rebase

1. Start the rebase: Initiate the rebase process using the following command:

   Terminal

   git rebase <base-branch>
   
   

   Replace <base-branch> with the name of the branch you are rebasing onto.

2. Identify conflicts: During the rebase, if there are conflicts, Git will pause the rebase and list the files that need your attention.

   For example, you may see output like this:

   Terminal

   Auto-merging file.txt
   CONFLICT (content): Merge conflict in file.txt
   Error: could not apply fa39187... your commit message here
   Resolve all conflicts manually, mark them as resolved with
   'git add/rm <conflicted_files>', then run 'git rebase --continue'.
   You can abort the rebase with 'git rebase --abort'.
   
   

3. Resolve the conflicts: Open each conflicted file and make the necessary changes. Conflicts are marked in the file like this:

   Terminal

   <<<<<<< HEAD
   Current branch version of file.txt
   =======
   Incoming changes version of file.txt
   >>>>>>> fa39187... your commit message here
   
   

   Edit the file to fix the conflicting sections. You can choose to keep the changes from your branch, the incoming changes, or merge them in any way you see fit.

4. Mark conflicts as resolved: After resolving each conflict in a file, use the following command to mark it as resolved:

   Terminal

   git add <file-name>
   
   

   Alternatively, if a file should be deleted, run:

   Terminal

   git rm <file-name>
   
   

5. Continue the rebase: Once all conflicts have been resolved and marked accordingly, continue the rebase:

   Terminal

   git rebase --continue
   
   

   If at any point you wish to stop the rebase and return to the original state, you can do so with:

   Terminal

   git rebase --abort
   
   

   This resets your working directory to the state it was in directly before you executed the rebase command.

6. Complete the rebase: If there are no more conflicts and all changes have been applied, the rebase will finish, and your branch will be updated.

Additional tips

• List conflicts: To view the list of all conflicts during a rebase, you can run:

  Terminal

  git status
  
  

• Interactive rebase: For more control during a rebase, especially when working with multiple commits, you can use:

  Terminal

  git rebase -i <base-branch>
  
  

  This opens up a text editor allowing you to pick, squash, edit, or drop commits.

For a more detailed walkthrough on conflicts and interactive rebasing, see this guide on resolving merge conflicts.

Using the Graphite CLI for automatic rebasing

Managing rebase conflicts manually can be time-consuming and error-prone, especially when dealing with stacked pull requests. The Graphite CLI offers an automated solution that simplifies this process.​

When you merge a pull request that's part of a stack, Graphite automatically rebases the remaining pull requests in the stack onto the updated base branch. This automation ensures that your stack remains up-to-date without requiring manual intervention.​

To synchronize your local branches with the updated stack, use the following command:​

 gt sync

This command pulls the latest changes from the remote repository and applies them to your local branches, keeping your development environment in sync with the remote stack.​

By leveraging Graphite CLI's automatic rebasing feature, you can reduce the overhead of managing rebase conflicts and maintain a cleaner, more efficient workflow.​

For more information on Graphite CLI and its features, refer to the Graphite CLI documentation.