Merge strategies overview in Git - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Merge strategies overview

📖 Scenario: You are working on a project with two branches: main and feature. You want to learn how to combine changes from feature into main using different merge strategies in Git.

🎯 Goal: Learn how to use three common Git merge strategies: merge, rebase, and fast-forward. You will practice creating branches, making commits, and applying these merge strategies step-by-step.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a Git repository with two branches: main and feature

Make commits on both branches

Use git merge to combine branches with a merge commit

Use git rebase to replay commits from one branch onto another

Use git merge --ff-only to perform a fast-forward merge

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

In real projects, developers use different merge strategies to keep the project history clean and understandable. Knowing when to use merge commits, rebase, or fast-forward merges helps teams collaborate smoothly.

💼 Career

Understanding Git merge strategies is essential for software developers, DevOps engineers, and anyone working with version control. It helps in managing code changes, collaborating with teams, and maintaining a clear project history.

1

Setup initial Git repository and branches

Initialize a Git repository. Create a file named README.md with the content Initial commit. Commit this file on the main branch. Then create a new branch called feature from main.

Git

# Initialize Git repository and create branches
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use git init to start the repo. Use echo to create the file. Use git add and git commit to save changes. Use git branch feature to create the branch.

2

Make commits on both branches

Switch to the feature branch. Create a file named feature.txt with the content Feature work. Commit this change. Then switch back to main and create a file named main.txt with the content Main work. Commit this change.

Git

git init
echo "Initial commit" > README.md
git add README.md
git commit -m "Initial commit"
git branch feature
# Add commits on feature and main branches
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use git checkout feature to switch branches. Create and commit files on each branch separately.

3

Merge feature into main with a merge commit

Switch to the main branch. Use git merge feature to merge the feature branch into main creating a merge commit.

Git

git init
echo "Initial commit" > README.md
git add README.md
git commit -m "Initial commit"
git branch feature
git checkout feature
echo "Feature work" > feature.txt
git add feature.txt
git commit -m "Add feature work"
git checkout main
echo "Main work" > main.txt
git add main.txt
git commit -m "Add main work"
# Merge feature into main with a merge commit
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Make sure you are on main branch before merging. Use git merge feature to combine branches with a merge commit.

4

Rebase feature onto main and fast-forward merge

Reset your repository to the state before the merge commit. Switch to feature branch. Use git rebase main to replay feature commits on top of main. Then switch to main and use git merge --ff-only feature to fast-forward merge feature into main.

Git

git init
echo "Initial commit" > README.md
git add README.md
git commit -m "Initial commit"
git branch feature
git checkout feature
echo "Feature work" > feature.txt
git add feature.txt
git commit -m "Add feature work"
git checkout main
echo "Main work" > main.txt
git add main.txt
git commit -m "Add main work"
git merge feature
# Reset to before merge, rebase feature on main, then fast-forward merge
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use git reset --hard HEAD~1 to undo the merge commit. Use git rebase main on feature. Then fast-forward merge with git merge --ff-only feature.