When to rebase vs when to merge in Git - Quick Revision & Key Differences

Recall & Review

beginner

What does 'git rebase' do?

It moves or reapplies your branch changes on top of another branch, creating a cleaner, linear history.

beginner

What is the main effect of 'git merge'?

It combines two branches by creating a new commit that joins their histories, preserving all commits as they happened.

intermediate

When should you prefer rebasing over merging?

Use rebase when you want a clean, linear history without extra merge commits, especially before sharing your work.

intermediate

When is merging a better choice than rebasing?

Merge when you want to keep the full history and context of how branches combined, or when working with shared branches.

advanced

What is a risk of rebasing shared branches?

Rebasing shared branches can rewrite history others rely on, causing confusion and conflicts.

What does 'git rebase' do to your commits?

A Deletes them permanently

B Moves them to a new base commit

C Creates a merge commit

D Pushes them to remote automatically

'git rebase' moves your commits to a new base, replaying them on top of another branch.

Which command preserves the exact history of both branches?

A git merge

B git rebase

C git reset

D git stash

'git merge' preserves the full history by creating a merge commit.

When should you avoid rebasing?

A When you want to update your branch

B When working on a private branch

C When you want a clean history

D When your branch is shared with others

Avoid rebasing shared branches because it rewrites history others depend on.

What is a benefit of merging?

A Creates a linear history

B Automatically rebases your branch

C Keeps all branch history intact

D Deletes old commits

Merging keeps all commits and branch history intact.

Which command would you use to update your feature branch with the latest main branch changes without merge commits?

A git rebase main

B git reset main

C git merge main

D git stash main

'git rebase main' reapplies your commits on top of the latest main branch, avoiding merge commits.

Explain in your own words when you would choose to rebase instead of merge.

Think about how you want your project history to look.

Describe the risks of rebasing a branch that others are using.

Consider what happens if you change something others already have.