Git Rebase

git rebase is a command you can use to apply changes from one branch onto another. When you run git rebase, Git will apply the changes from the source branch onto the target branch, one commit at a time. This can be useful if you want to keep the commit history of the target branch clean and avoid creating multiple merge commits.

Here's an example of how you might use git rebase:

  1. Create a new branch called "new-feature" and make some changes to the code.
  2. Switch back to the main branch (usually called "master") using git checkout master.
  3. Run git rebase new-feature to apply the changes from the "new-feature" branch onto the main branch.

Unlike git merge, which creates a new commit to combine the changes from the two branches, git rebase modifies the existing commits in the target branch to include the changes from the source branch. This can result in a linear commit history, which can be easier to follow and understand.

It's important to note that git rebase can cause conflicts if there are changes to the same lines of code in both branches. In this case, git rebase will pause the rebase and allow you to resolve the conflicts manually, similar to how git merge handles conflicts.

Here are a few more things you might want to know about git rebase:

  • git rebase can be used to apply changes from a specific commit, rather than an entire branch. To do this, you can use the git rebase command followed by the commit hash. For example:
git rebase abc123 

This will apply the changes from the commit with the hash "abc123" onto the current branch.

  • git rebase can be used to modify the commit history of a branch. For example, you can use git rebase to squash multiple commits into a single commit, or to reorder commits. This can be useful if you want to clean up the commit history of a branch before merging it into another branch.

  • It's generally a good idea to avoid using git rebase if you have already pushed your changes to a remote repository, as it can cause conflicts with other users' work. If you need to modify the commit history of a branch that has already been pushed, you can use git push --force to force the changes onto the remote repository, but this can cause problems if other users have based their work on the original commits.

  • You can use the git log command to view the commit history of your repository. This can be helpful when you are trying to understand the changes that were made on a specific branch or when you are trying to identify the source of a conflict during a rebase.

  • git rebase can be used to update a branch with the changes from another branch, similar to git merge. However, unlike git merge, which creates a new commit to combine the changes from the two branches, git rebase modifies the existing commits in the target branch to include the changes from the source branch. This can result in a linear commit history, which can be easier to follow and understand.

  • git rebase can cause conflicts if there are changes to the same lines of code in both branches. In this case, git rebase will pause the rebase and allow you to resolve the conflicts manually, similar to how git merge handles conflicts.

  • git rebase can be used to modify the commit history of a branch. For example, you can use git rebase to squash multiple commits into a single commit, or to reorder commits. This can be useful if you want to clean up the commit history of a branch before merging it into another branch.

  • It's generally a good idea to avoid using git rebase if you have already pushed your changes to a remote repository, as it can cause conflicts with other users' work. If you need to modify the commit history of a branch that has already been pushed, you can use git push --force to force the changes onto the remote repository, but this can cause problems if other users have based their work on the original commits.