# merge-or-rebase-a-branch

## Owner: Arthur Levoyer

## Prerequisites

* Have git-cli installed

## Context

Let's say, you are currently working on your own `my-feature` branch and someone from your team is merging new commits into the `master` branch which you would like to use. You have two different possibilities to incorporate them to your `my-feature` branch.

![image](https://wac-cdn.atlassian.com/dam/jcr:01b0b04e-64f3-4659-af21-c4d86bc7cb0b/01.svg?cdnVersion=fp)

## Steps

1. First approach: Merge a branch

Merge the `master` branch into the `feature` branch by entering following:

* `git checkout my-feature` 
* `git merge master` 

  It gives you a new “merge commit” in the feature branch that ties together the histories of both branches. 

It's nice because it is a non-destructive operation but if your `master` branch is very active, you might quickly have a new commits including a lot of changes and this will pollute your history quite a lot.

![image](https://wac-cdn.atlassian.com/dam/jcr:e229fef6-2c2f-4a4f-b270-e1e1baa94055/02.svg?cdnVersion=fp)

1. Second approach: Rebase a branch
2. `git checkout my-feature` 
3. `git rebase master` 

The difference with the merge solution above, it that it will create new commits into your \`my-feature\` for each commits in \`master\` and give you a much cleaner project history.

On the other hand, a very unwanted situation might occur if you do not follow the [Golden Rules of Rebasing](https://www.atlassian.com/git/tutorials/merging-vs-rebasing#the-golden-rule-of-rebasing)

![image](https://wac-cdn.atlassian.com/dam/jcr:5b153a22-38be-40d0-aec8-5f2fffc771e5/03.svg?cdnVersion=fp)

Source: [atlassian.com](https://www.atlassian.com/git/tutorials/merging-vs-rebasing)


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://bamtech.gitbook.io/dev-standards/git/merge-or-rebase-a-branch.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.