Git rebase

Git Rebase: A Powerful Way to Rewrite Commit History

Git rebase is a way to rewrite commit history by moving or modifying commits. It is often used to:

• Keep a clean project history
• Integrate changes from another branch
• Edit, reorder, or squash commits

1. Understanding Rebase vs. Merge

Merge (git merge)

• Creates a new "merge commit" that combines branches.
• Preserves the history of both branches.
• Can lead to a messy commit history with many merge commits.

Rebase (git rebase)

• Moves or reapplies commits on top of another branch.
• Keeps history linear and clean.
• Avoids unnecessary merge commits.

Example:

git checkout feature-branch
git rebase main

🔹 This moves all commits from feature-branch to the latest main.

2. Using Git Rebase

2.1 Rebasing a Feature Branch onto Main

If your feature-branch is behind main and you want to bring in the latest changes:

git checkout feature-branch
git rebase main

🔹 This moves the commits from feature-branch on top of main.

If conflicts occur, resolve them and continue with:

git rebase --continue

To abort the rebase and go back:

git rebase --abort

3. Interactive Rebase (git rebase -i)

Interactive rebase lets you edit, reorder, squash, or remove commits.

3.1 Start an Interactive Rebase

git rebase -i HEAD~3

🔹 This allows you to modify the last 3 commits.

You'll see a list like this:

pick a1b2c3 First commit
pick d4e5f6 Second commit
pick g7h8i9 Third commit

3.2 Modify Commits

Replace pick with:

• reword → Edit commit message
• edit → Modify the commit
• squash → Merge commits
• drop → Delete the commit

Example (squashing commits):

pick a1b2c3 First commit
squash d4e5f6 Second commit
pick g7h8i9 Third commit

🔹 This combines the Second commit into the First commit.

After saving, Git will prompt you to update the commit message.

4. Rebasing a Remote Branch

4.1 Force Push After Rebase

Since rebase rewrites history, you must force push:

git push --force

For a safer force push:

git push --force-with-lease

🔹 This prevents overwriting commits if someone else pushed changes.

5. Undoing a Rebase

If something goes wrong during rebase:

git reflog
git reset --hard ORIG_HEAD

🔹 This restores your branch to before the rebase.

Conclusion

Action	Command
Rebase feature branch onto main	git rebase main
Start interactive rebase (last 3 commits)	git rebase -i HEAD~3
Squash commits during rebase	Change pick to squash
Undo a rebase	git reset --hard ORIG_HEAD
Continue after fixing conflicts	git rebase --continue
Abort rebase	git rebase --abort

🔹 Use git rebase to keep a clean commit history! Would you like a more detailed example? 🚀