Interactive rebase (git rebase -i) - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

💻 Command Output

intermediate

What is the output of this interactive rebase command?

You run git rebase -i HEAD~3 and change the second commit's action from pick to edit. After saving and closing the editor, what happens next?

A Git applies all three commits automatically without pausing.

B Git skips the second commit and applies the first and third commits only.

C Git aborts the rebase because <code>edit</code> is not a valid action.

D Git pauses the rebase after applying the first commit and allows you to amend the second commit.

💡 Hint

Remember that edit pauses the rebase to let you change the commit.

Using edit in interactive rebase pauses the process after applying the previous commit, allowing you to amend the current commit before continuing.

🧠 Conceptual

intermediate

What is the purpose of the reword command in git rebase -i?

During an interactive rebase, you see the option to change a commit's action to reword. What does this do?

A It combines the commit with the previous one.

B It allows you to change the commit message without modifying the commit content.

C It pauses the rebase to let you edit the commit content.

D It deletes the commit from the history.

💡 Hint

Think about changing only the commit message.

The reword command lets you edit the commit message during rebase without changing the commit's content.

🔀 Workflow

advanced

What is the correct sequence to squash the last two commits into one using interactive rebase?

You want to combine the last two commits into a single commit with a new message. Which sequence of commands and actions is correct?

A 1,2,3,4

B 2,1,3,4

C 1,3,2,4

D 3,1,2,4

💡 Hint

Start by telling git which commits to rebase, then mark the second commit to squash.

First, you start the interactive rebase for the last two commits, then mark the second commit as 'squash', save the file, and finally edit the combined commit message.

❓ Troubleshoot

advanced

What error occurs if you try to rebase a branch with uncommitted changes?

You run git rebase -i HEAD~3 but have uncommitted changes in your working directory. What error message will git show?

A error: cannot rebase: You have unstaged changes.

B error: could not apply commit because of conflicts.

C error: Your local changes to the following files would be overwritten by merge.

D error: rebase failed due to detached HEAD.

💡 Hint

Git protects your uncommitted changes from being overwritten during rebase.

Git refuses to start a rebase if you have uncommitted changes, showing 'error: Your local changes to the following files would be overwritten by merge.'

✅ Best Practice

expert

Which practice is recommended when rewriting public commit history with git rebase -i?

You want to clean up commits on a branch that others have already pulled. What is the best practice before pushing rewritten commits?

A Force push with <code>git push --force-with-lease</code> after informing your team.

B Use <code>git push</code> normally; git will handle conflicts automatically.

C Avoid rebasing public branches; instead, create a new branch and push it.

D Delete the remote branch and push your local branch as new.

💡 Hint

Consider safety and communication when rewriting shared history.

Force pushing with --force-with-lease is safer than plain force push and should be done only after informing your team to avoid overwriting others' work.