06 · Merge, Rebase & Conflicts

Status: ✅ Implemented · Scope: v1 · Engineering: ../spec.md

Merge

• Entry: right-click a branch in the branch picker → "Merge into current branch". From the graph, merge actions come from the branch/ref rows' own menus (page 09).
• Options: --no-ff (merge commit), --squash (squashed changes staged, no commit), --ff-only.
• Result: a summary toast (fast-forward / merge commit created / conflicts); on conflicts the operation banner appears (below).

Rebase

• Rebase current onto… — pick any ref; a dirty working tree is auto-stashed first (restored after).
• Interactive rebase — from the graph (right-click a commit → "Interactive rebase from here") or the branch picker:
  • A list editor shows the commits to be replayed with one row per commit. Row actions: pick / reword / edit / squash / fixup / drop (row buttons).
  • Reorder by dragging a row's handle, or with its move up/down buttons — the buttons stay so the plan is keyboard-operable. A line marks where the dragged row lands.
  • During the rebase, the operation banner offers Continue / Skip / Abort; stopping on an edit row behaves like a pause — amend or run commands, then Continue.
• Both rebases run in the background without blocking the window; Git's output for the whole run lands in the Output panel and the graph refreshes when the rebase finishes or stops.

Cherry-pick & revert

• Cherry-pick — from the graph or the commit details panel. One commit at a time, or Ctrl/Cmd-click several rows and pick the whole selection in one go; the dialog lists the commits in the order they run, oldest first. Option --no-commit (changes staged, stop before committing). Picking a range given as A..B from the UI is [Later].
• Revert — same entries, same options, single or as a selection; a batch is undone from the newest commit so an earlier change does not reappear. Revert of a merge commit requires choosing the mainline (the dialog explains which parent is which).
• Conflicts follow the same banner flow. In a batch, Skip drops the commit that stopped it and runs the ones still queued.

Reset

Right-click a commit → Reset current branch to here:

Mode	What happens
Soft	Branch pointer moves; index and working tree untouched (changes stay staged).
Mixed	Branch pointer moves; index reset; changes remain in the working tree (unstaged).
Hard	Everything reset — working-tree changes are lost. Requires confirmation; the dialog names the commits that will be dropped, and a backup ref is created first.

Conflicts

Whenever an operation stops on conflicts (merge, rebase, cherry-pick, revert):

1. An operation banner appears at the top of the repository section and in the graph: Continue / Skip / Abort, plus a live count of unresolved files.
2. The Conflicts group (page 03) lists the files. For each file:
   • Ours / Theirs / Both resolution actions,
   • Open in editor (shows conflict markers with syntax highlighting),
   • Open in external merge tool — configurable command in settings (e.g. Beyond Compare, WinMerge, KDiff3).
3. Resolved files are marked (a "Mark resolved" action, or automatically when staged).
4. Continue is validated: if unresolved files remain, a dialog lists them instead of letting Git fail mid-way.
5. Abort restores the pre-operation state exactly; Skip (rebase/cherry-pick) skips the current commit.

A conflicting stash apply/pop is the exception: it does not start an operation, so no banner appears. The stash entry is kept, the conflicted files are left in the working tree with their markers, and a notice tells you what happened (page 07).

Conflicts via merge tool inside the editor

The built-in editor shows standard conflict markers (<<<<<<<, =======, >>>>>>>) with actions in the gutter: Accept ours / Accept theirs / Accept both. The full 3-way merge editor is [Later].

Safety nets

• Before every destructive operation — reset --hard, rebase (incl. interactive), history rewrite, stash drop, branch delete, worktree force-remove — GitTreeDesk creates a backup ref under refs/gitreedesk/backup/… pointing at the state that is about to be replaced. Backup refs are invisible in normal branch/tag lists.
• After the operation, the toast offers Undo (restores the backup ref). Undo stays available later from the repository context menu → "Restore from backup…", which lists recent backups with their operation, time, and target ref.
• The backup/undo history is also recorded in the repository's operation log (Output panel).

Blocked operations

While an operation is in progress, GitTreeDesk blocks conflicting ones (e.g. starting a rebase during a merge) and explains why in a dialog that offers the legal next actions (continue / abort first).