Merging & Rebasing

Q: How do I cancel a merge with conflicts?

`git merge --abort` stops the in-progress merge and returns the branch to exactly the state it was in before you started. If the merge already completed, undo it with `git revert -m 1 ` instead.

Q: How do I squash several commits into one?

Run `git rebase -i HEAD~N` for the last N commits, keep `pick` on the first line and change the rest to `squash` (or `s`). Git combines them into a single commit and lets you write its message. On GitHub, "Squash and merge" does the same at PR merge time.

Kombiniere die Arbeit aus zwei Branches mit merge, rebase, squash und cherry-pick.

git rebase vs mergeTwo ways to combine branches: a merge commit that preserves history, or a linear replay.git squash commitsCombine several commits into one with interactive rebase for a clean history.git abort mergeCancel a merge in progress and return the branch to the state before you started.git cherry-pickApply a specific commit from one branch onto another, without merging the whole branch.git mergeCombine another branch into your current one, with or without a merge commit.git rebaseReplay your commits on top of another branch for a clean, linear history.

Combining branches: merge, rebase, and friends

Git gives you two ways to combine branches. git merge ties them together with a merge commit and preserves history exactly as it happened. git rebase replays your commits on top of the other branch, producing a straight line with no merge commit. Neither is "better" - merge is safer for shared branches, rebase keeps a feature branch clean before it lands.

Around those two sit the precision tools: git cherry-pick to carry a single commit across branches, interactive rebase to squash a messy series of commits into one, and git merge --abort for the moment a conflicted merge is more trouble than it is worth.

Häufig gestellte Fragen

Should I use git merge or git rebase?

Rebase your own unpushed feature branch to keep history linear; merge everything shared. The golden rule: never rebase commits that others may have based work on - rewriting published history forces everyone downstream to untangle it.

How do I cancel a merge with conflicts?

git merge --abort stops the in-progress merge and returns the branch to exactly the state it was in before you started. If the merge already completed, undo it with git revert -m 1 <merge-commit> instead.

How do I squash several commits into one?

Run git rebase -i HEAD~N for the last N commits, keep pick on the first line and change the rest to squash (or s). Git combines them into a single commit and lets you write its message. On GitHub, "Squash and merge" does the same at PR merge time.