Ours vs theirs in conflicts in Git - Visual Side-by-Side Comparison

Process Flow - Ours vs theirs in conflicts

Start merge

↓

Conflict detected

↓

Choose resolution

↓

Use ours

↓

Mark resolved

↓

Complete merge

When a merge conflict happens, you decide which version to keep: 'ours' (your changes) or 'theirs' (incoming changes). Then you mark the conflict resolved and finish the merge.

Execution Sample

Git

git merge feature-branch
# conflict occurs
# resolve with ours: git checkout --ours <file>
# or with theirs: git checkout --theirs <file>
git add <file>
git commit

This sequence shows merging a branch, resolving conflicts by choosing 'ours' or 'theirs', then committing the resolution.

Process Table

Step	Action	Conflict State	File Content Chosen	Next Step
1	git merge feature-branch	Conflict detected in file.txt	None yet	Choose resolution
2	git checkout --ours file.txt	Conflict unresolved	Our version of file.txt	Stage file
3	git add file.txt	Conflict resolved	Our version staged	Commit merge
4	git commit	Merge completed	Our version saved in history	End
5	git merge feature-branch	Conflict detected in file.txt	None yet	Choose resolution
6	git checkout --theirs file.txt	Conflict unresolved	Their version of file.txt	Stage file
7	git add file.txt	Conflict resolved	Their version staged	Commit merge
8	git commit	Merge completed	Their version saved in history	End

💡 Merge ends after committing resolved version, either ours or theirs.

Status Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 2	After Step 3	After Step 4
file.txt content	Conflict markers present	Our version replaces conflict	Our version staged	Our version committed

Key Moments - 2 Insights

Why does 'git checkout --ours' not immediately commit the change?

Because it only replaces the conflicted file content with our version locally; you must still stage (git add) and commit to finalize.

What happens if you forget to 'git add' after choosing ours or theirs?

The conflict remains unresolved and git will not allow the merge commit until you stage the resolved file, as shown in steps 2 and 3.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution table, what is the file content after step 6?

A Their version of file.txt

B Our version of file.txt

C Conflict markers still present

D File deleted

💡 Hint

Check the 'File Content Chosen' column at step 6 in the execution table.

At which step does the conflict become resolved when choosing 'ours'?

A Step 1

B Step 2

C Step 3

D Step 4

💡 Hint

Look for 'Conflict resolved' in the 'Conflict State' column for the 'ours' path.

If you skip 'git add' after choosing 'theirs', what happens?

A Merge completes successfully

B Conflict remains unresolved

C Git automatically stages the file

D Git aborts the merge

💡 Hint

Refer to key moment about forgetting 'git add' and the execution table steps 6 and 7.

Concept Snapshot

git merge may cause conflicts.
Use 'git checkout --ours <file>' to keep your version.
Use 'git checkout --theirs <file>' to keep incoming version.
Then 'git add <file>' to stage resolved file.
Finally, 'git commit' to finish merge.
Without staging, merge cannot complete.

Full Transcript

When you merge branches in git, sometimes files conflict because both branches changed the same lines. Git stops and marks the conflict. You must pick which version to keep: your current branch's version ('ours') or the incoming branch's version ('theirs'). You do this by running 'git checkout --ours <file>' or 'git checkout --theirs <file>'. This replaces the conflicted file content locally. Then you stage the file with 'git add <file>' to tell git the conflict is resolved. Finally, you commit the merge with 'git commit'. If you skip staging, git will not let you finish the merge. This process helps you control which changes survive conflicts.