How to Rebase in Git: A Step-by-Step Guide

Rebasing in Git is a powerful tool that lets you rewrite history to create a cleaner, more linear project timeline. While powerful, it must be used carefully—especially in collaborative environments.

In this post, you’ll learn:

What rebasing is
When to use it
How to do it (with commands)
Common rebase scenarios

Table of Contents

🔄 What Is Git Rebase?

The git rebase command moves or reapplies your commits on top of another branch. It’s often used to:

Sync your branch with the latest changes from main or master
Clean up commit history before merging
Avoid merge commits in feature branches

🆚 Rebase vs Merge: What’s the Difference?

Feature	`git merge`	`git rebase`
History	Creates a merge commit	Rewrites history with new commits
Commit Log	Shows branching paths	Appears as a straight line
Use Case	Preserve history, team merges	Clean history, personal feature work

✅ Basic Rebase Workflow

Scenario: You’re working on a `feature` branch and want to rebase it onto the latest `main`.

🔧 Step-by-Step:

Switch to your feature branch: git checkout feature
Rebase onto main: git rebase main This will move your feature branch commits to the tip of main.
(If conflicts occur) Git will pause and allow you to fix them. After fixing: git add . git rebase --continue
Repeat until rebase is complete.

🔄 Keeping Your Branch Updated

If main has new commits and you want your feature branch to include them:

# From your feature branch
git fetch origin
git rebase origin/main

📤 Rebasing Before a Pull Request

Before opening a PR, rebase your branch to ensure a clean and up-to-date history:

git checkout feature
git fetch origin
git rebase origin/main

Then force push (since rebase rewrites history):

git push --force

⚠️ Only force push to branches you control. Never rebase shared/public branches unless everyone agrees.

🔁 Interactive Rebase

To edit commits, squash, or reorder them:

git rebase -i HEAD~N

Replace N with the number of recent commits you want to rebase.

You’ll see a list like:

pick 1a2b3c First commit
pick 4d5e6f Second commit

Change pick to:

squash – combine with the previous commit
edit – amend this commit
drop – remove the commit

🧠 Summary of Key Commands

Task	Command
Rebase your branch onto `main`	`git rebase main`
Continue after resolving conflict	`git rebase --continue`
Abort a rebase	`git rebase --abort`
Interactive rebase (edit commits)	`git rebase -i HEAD~N`
Force push after rebase	`git push --force`

🚨 Best Practices

Never rebase public/shared branches—only rebase your own.
Always resolve conflicts carefully during a rebase.
Use git log before and after rebasing to understand changes.

🔚 Conclusion

Rebasing is an essential Git skill that helps maintain a clean and linear commit history. Use it to keep your work current, prepare for pull requests, and refine your project timeline.