Git Rebase for the Terrified

4 months ago

Git rebase is often feared due to its reputation for destroying work, but the worst-case scenario is recoverable by deleting the local clone and starting over.
Maintainers request rebases to maintain a clean, linear project history, making it easier to review changes and track down bugs.
To rebase, ensure the upstream repository is configured, fetch the latest changes, and rebase your feature branch onto the main branch.
Conflict resolution involves understanding conflict markers in files and deciding which changes to keep, sometimes using tools like VS Code for clarity.
Strategies for tricky conflicts include squashing commits before rebasing, aborting and trying a different approach, or using git rerere for repeated conflicts.
After rebasing, validate changes with git log, build the project, and run tests to ensure everything works as expected.
Force pushing with --force-with-lease is necessary after rebasing but should only be done on personal feature branches, not shared ones.
If rebasing goes wrong, the nuclear option is to push any saved work to a remote fork, delete the local clone, and start fresh.
Rebasing rewrites commit history, which is acceptable for personal branches but requires coordination for collaborative branches to avoid disrupting others' work.

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