When working with Git, one of the most common tasks you’ll perform is merging—bringing the changes from one branch into another. Whether you’re finishing a feature or integrating bug fixes, merging helps you combine the work of multiple contributors or development lines.
In this post, you’ll learn how to safely and effectively merge one branch into another using Git.
🧠 What Is a Git Merge?
Merging in Git means combining the changes from one branch into another. The most common use case is merging a feature branch into the main (or master) branch.
🔀 Basic Syntax
git checkout target-branch
git merge source-branch
target-branch: The branch you want to merge changes into.source-branch: The branch with changes you want to bring from.
🛠️ Step-by-Step: Merge a Branch
Example: Merge feature/login into main
1. Switch to the target branch
git checkout main
2. Pull the latest changes (optional but recommended)
git pull origin main
3. Merge the source branch
git merge feature/login
4. Push the merged result to the remote
git push origin main
✅ What Happens During a Merge?
- Git tries to automatically merge changes.
- If there are no conflicting changes, it creates a merge commit.
- If there are conflicts, you’ll need to resolve them manually.
⚔️ Resolving Merge Conflicts
If Git reports a conflict:
- Open the conflicted files (they’ll be marked in your Git status).
- Look for conflict markers like:
<<<<<<< HEAD
your code
=======
incoming code
>>>>>>> feature/login
- Edit and resolve the differences.
- Mark the conflict as resolved:
git add <filename>
- Complete the merge:
git commit
🔄 Optional: Merge Without a Commit (Fast-forward)
If the target branch is behind the source and no diverging changes exist, Git will do a fast-forward merge, updating the target branch pointer directly.
Use:
git merge --ff-only feature/login
🧪 Bonus: Prevent Conflicts with Rebase (Optional Strategy)
Before merging, you can rebase your source branch on the latest target branch to reduce conflicts:
git checkout feature/login
git rebase main
Then switch back to main and merge.
🔁 Summary of Merge Commands
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
| Switch to target branch | git checkout main |
| Merge another branch into it | git merge feature-branch |
| Push merged changes | git push origin main |
| Resolve conflicts | Manually fix, then git add + commit |
| Rebase before merging (optional) | git rebase target-branch |
🧩 Final Thoughts
Merging is a core part of collaborative Git workflows. With a clear understanding of how to merge branches—and resolve any conflicts—you’ll be better equipped to manage projects and keep your version history clean.
