Force pushing after a Git rebase

This guide will explain how to safely perform a rebase and force push in Git, covering various scenarios and best practices.

What is a git rebase?

git rebase is a command in Git that re-applies commits on top of another base tip. It's commonly used to create a cleaner, more linear project history by rearranging commits and eliminating the need for unnecessary merge commits.

How to perform a Git rebase

Ensure your branch is up to date with the remote: Before starting the rebase, make sure your branch has the latest changes from the remote branch. This helps avoid conflicts during the rebase.
Terminal
```
git fetch origin
git rebase origin/main
```
Replace main with the branch you are rebasing onto.
Perform the rebase: Start the rebase process by specifying the base branch:
Terminal
```
git rebase -i origin/main
```
This command will open an interactive rebase session where you can choose which commits to rebase.
Resolve any conflicts: If there are conflicts, Git will pause the rebase and allow you to fix them. After resolving any conflicts, use:
Terminal
```
git add .
git rebase --continue
```
Repeat this until all conflicts are resolved and the rebase completes. For a more detailed walkthrough see this guide on resolving conflicts in Git.
Force push to remote: After successfully rebasing locally, you'll need to force push to update the remote repository:
Terminal
```
git push origin <branch-name> --force
```
Replace <branch-name> with your branch. This command is necessary because the history of your local branch has diverged from the remote branch. In order to complete the rebase, you must rewrite the history of the remote repository using git push --force. This will overwrite the history of the remote branch with the edited rebased history of the local branch.

Scenarios and solutions

Git force push after rebase: This is required when you have already pushed the branch to a remote repository and then performed a rebase. Since the commit history changes, a simple push will be rejected, and you need to force push.
Git rebase without force push: If you're rebasing a branch that hasn't been pushed to a remote, or you're working on a personal branch that no one else is using, you might not need to force push. However, this is rare in collaborative environments.
Git rebase and push to remote: After rebasing, pushing to a remote typically requires force pushing due to changes in commit history.

For further reading, see this guide on rebasing in Git, or see the official Git documentation.