How Git Rebase Works: A Clear and Practical Guide

In Git, rebase is a powerful command that allows you to rewrite commit history by moving or combining commits. It’s often used to clean up a feature branch before merging, or to incorporate the latest changes from a main branch without creating a messy commit tree.

In this guide, you’ll learn what git rebase does, when to use it, and how to perform a rebase safely.

Table of Contents

🧠 What Is Git Rebase?

git rebase moves or “re-applies” commits from one branch onto another base commit. Unlike merge, which creates a new merge commit, rebase replays your changes on top of another branch, resulting in a linear history.

🔄 Rebase vs. Merge (Quick Comparison)

Feature	`git merge`	`git rebase`
Commit history	Keeps all commits, creates a merge commit	Linearizes history (no merge commit)
Clarity	Shows full branch structure	Cleaner, straight-line history
Use case	Collaborative workflows	Clean, private or local workflows

✅ How to Use Git Rebase

Example Scenario

You have a feature branch and want to bring in the latest commits from main.

git checkout feature
git rebase main

This does the following:

Rewinds your feature branch to the base of main
Applies your feature commits on top of main

🔁 Rebase Workflow: Step-by-Step

Switch to the branch you want to rebase: git checkout feature
Run the rebase command: git rebase main
Resolve conflicts (if any): Git will pause and prompt you to resolve each conflict manually. After fixing, run: git add <resolved-file> git rebase --continue
Repeat until done.

✏️ Interactive Rebase (To Edit Commits)

git rebase -i HEAD~n

This opens an editor where you can:

pick commits to keep
squash commits to combine
reword commit messages
drop commits you no longer need

Perfect for cleaning up your commit history before pushing.

⚠️ Rebase Tips and Best Practices

Never rebase public/shared branches. It rewrites history, which can confuse collaborators.
Always pull with rebase to avoid unnecessary merge commits: git pull --rebase
Use --onto for advanced rebasing: git rebase --onto new-base old-base feature

📝 Summary

Task	Command
Rebase feature onto main	`git checkout feature` → `git rebase main`
Resolve conflict	Fix → `git add .` → `git rebase --continue`
Abort rebase	`git rebase --abort`
Interactive rebase	`git rebase -i HEAD~n`
Pull with rebase	`git pull --rebase`

🎯 Use Cases for Git Rebase

Clean up messy commit history
Reapply changes on top of latest main
Prepare a feature branch for merge (with --squash)
Remove or edit old commits interactively

By mastering git rebase, you gain the ability to shape your commit history exactly how you want it—clean, logical, and easy to read.