Git rebase Command
In this page:
Basic Rebase
Rebasing takes a sequence of commits and replays them one by one on top of a different base commit, producing a cleaner, linear-looking history compared to the branching structure a merge would leave behind.
Example: Basic Rebase
git checkout feature-x
git rebase mainContinuing Rebase
If replaying a commit during a rebase causes a conflict, Git pauses mid-operation -- you resolve the conflict in the affected files, stage them, then run git rebase --continue to resume replaying the remaining commits.
Example: Continuing Rebase
git add file.txt
git rebase --continueInteractive Rebase
git rebase -i <commit> opens an interactive editor listing your recent commits, letting you reword messages, squash several commits into one, reorder them, or drop ones you no longer want -- powerful for cleaning up history before sharing it.
Example: Interactive Rebase
git rebase -i HEAD~3Rebasing Onto Another Branch
git rebase --onto <newbase> <oldbase> <branch> replays only the commits unique to your branch onto a different target, skipping over an intermediate branch entirely -- useful when your branch's actual parent has changed.
Example: Rebasing Onto Another Branch
git rebase --onto main old-feature new-featureSafe Rebase Practices
Never rebase commits that have already been pushed and that others may have built on -- doing so rewrites history that other people's clones still reference. If you absolutely must push a rebased branch, use --force-with-lease rather than a plain force push, which at least protects against silently overwriting someone else's new commits.
Example: Safe Rebase Practices
git push --force-with-leaseChapter Quiz — Complete all 9 topics to unlock
0/9 topics done
Complete these topics first: