Advanced Merge Conflicts

As your project and team grow, merge conflicts become more complex — spanning multiple files, involving binary assets, or arising from rebases and cherry-picks. This lesson covers strategies for handling conflicts confidently.

Reviewing the Full Conflict Scope

Before touching any file, get a complete picture of what's in conflict:

git status

List only the conflicted files:

git diff --name-only --diff-filter=U

Show the full diff for all conflicted files at once:

git diff

Understand the Three-Way Merge

When a conflict occurs, Git works with three versions of the file:

• BASE — the common ancestor commit (where both branches last agreed).
• OURS — the version on your current branch (HEAD).
• THEIRS — the version on the incoming branch.

Extract these versions for any conflicted file to inspect them separately:

git show :1:filename.txt   # BASE
git show :2:filename.txt   # OURS
git show :3:filename.txt   # THEIRS

Resolve Conflicts by Choosing One Side

Accept your version entirely for a file:

git checkout --ours filename.txt
git add filename.txt

Accept the incoming version entirely:

git checkout --theirs filename.txt
git add filename.txt

Resolve Conflicts Using git rerere

rerere (Reuse Recorded Resolution) records how you resolved a conflict. The next time the same conflict appears (for example, on a long-running rebase), Git applies the recorded resolution automatically.

Enable it globally:

git config --global rerere.enabled true

After enabling, Git records every conflict you resolve manually. View recorded resolutions:

git rerere status

Handling Binary File Conflicts

Git can't merge binary files (images, compiled assets). You must choose one side explicitly:

git checkout --ours images/logo.png
git add images/logo.png

Or use the incoming version:

git checkout --theirs images/logo.png
git add images/logo.png

After Resolving All Conflicts

Confirm no conflict markers remain:

git diff --check

Stage resolved files and complete the merge:

git add .
git commit

tip

For complex or long-running conflicts, use a visual diff tool (git mergetool). The next lesson covers how to set one up.

Enable git rerere if you work on long-lived branches or frequently rebase — it saves significant time.

Common Mistakes

Partially resolving conflicts — resolving some files but forgetting others. Always run git status and git diff --check before staging to confirm all conflicts are cleared.

Not reading both sides before choosing — blindly accepting --ours or --theirs can delete work. Read both versions before deciding.

Committing files that still contain conflict markers — git diff --check will catch these. Set up a pre-commit hook or CI check to block commits with conflict markers.

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Next Steps: Using git mergetool