The Clean Git Rebase Workflow

README.md

A guide to maintaining a linear project history using git rebase and bringing in changes from main into feature_branch

1. Update local main

git checkout main
git pull origin main

2. Rebase feature branch

git checkout feature_branch
git rebase main

3. Handle Conflicts (if any)

# - Edit files to resolve conflicts
# - git add <file>
# - git rebase --continue

4. Update Remote

git push origin feature_branch --force-with-lease

Why Rebase?

• Linear History: Eliminates "merge bubbles"; the log shows features developed in a clean sequence
• Debug-Friendly: git bisect works efficiently on a straight line of commits
• Clean PRs: Reviews focus strictly on your changes, not merge noise
• Critical Rules
  • Private Branches Only: Never rebase a branch shared with other developers
  • It rewrites history and breaks their local copies
• Force with Lease: Always use --force-with-lease instead of --force to prevent overwriting unexpected remote changes
• Conflict Resolution
  • Rebasing resolves conflicts one commit at a time
  • Git pauses at the conflicting commit
  • Resolve the conflict in your editor
  • git add <file> then git rebase --continue
  • Use git rebase --abort to safely cancel and return to the original state
  • Pro Tip: Enable auto-stashing to handle uncommitted changes automatically
    • git config --global rebase.autoStash true