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git rebase

Description:
Reapply commits from one branch onto another base. Creates a linear history by moving commits to a new base.

Syntax:

git rebase <branch-name>
git rebase -i <commit>
git rebase --continue
git rebase --abort

Examples:

# Rebase current branch onto main
git rebase main

# Interactive rebase (edit last 3 commits)
git rebase -i HEAD~3

# Continue after resolving conflicts
git rebase --continue

# Skip current commit during rebase
git rebase --skip

# Cancel rebase operation
git rebase --abort

# Rebase and preserve merge commits
git rebase --preserve-merges main

Detailed Explanation:

• Rewrites history: Moves commits to a new base, creating new commit hashes
• Linear history: Creates a straight line of commits without merge commits
• Interactive mode: -i allows editing, squashing, reordering, or dropping commits
• Cleaner history: Makes project timeline easier to follow and understand

Common Errors:

• CONFLICT (content): Merge conflict in <file> → Solution: Resolve conflicts, git add <file>, then git rebase --continue
• fatal: Needed a single revision → Solution: Check branch name spelling
• error: cannot rebase: You have unstaged changes → Solution: Commit or stash changes before rebasing
• fatal: refusing to merge unrelated histories → Solution: Add --allow-unrelated-histories or use git merge instead

Pro Tips:

• Golden Rule: Never rebase commits that have been pushed to a shared branch (rewrites history).
• Use interactive rebase to clean up commits before pushing: git rebase -i HEAD~5
• Squash commits in interactive rebase: change pick to squash or s
• Update feature branch with latest main: git rebase main (cleaner than merging main into feature)
• Reword commit messages: Use reword or r in interactive rebase
• Warning: Rebase changes commit hashes; causes problems if commits are already shared

Related Commands:

• git merge – Alternative integration method (preserves history)
• git cherry-pick – Apply specific commits
• git reflog – Recover from rebase mistakes
• git push --force-with-lease – Safely push rebased branches

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