DEV Community

Cover image for Git Merge vs Rebase
Balraj Singh
Balraj Singh

Posted on

2 2 2 2 2

Git Merge vs Rebase

Two paths, one goal!

When it comes to Git, branching is where the magic happens. But, eventually, every branch needs to come together. And that’s where the question comes up:
**
Merge or Rebase?**

Both techniques have the same endgame: integrating changes. But how they go about it? That’s where it gets interesting.

Merge – You’re combining branches like puzzle pieces. All changes from multiple branches merge into one, preserving history as is. You’ll see every bump and hiccup along the way. It’s transparent but can get messy.

Rebase – It's like rewriting history. You take the changes and play them back onto your current branch, linearizing history. It’s cleaner but can lead to confusion if done on shared branches. Perfect for those who crave a tidy timeline.

When to Merge:

  • You're working in a team, and everyone needs full context.
  • Preserving all commits is more important than a clean timeline.

When to Rebase:

  • You like working solo (or your team’s chill about rebasing).
  • You prefer a clean, straight-commit history with no distractions.

So, next time you hit that merge vs rebase crossroad, remember: there’s no universal rule. It’s all about what you value more – transparency or tidiness.

What’s your go-to method and why? Drop a comment!

Billboard image

Deploy and scale your apps on AWS and GCP with a world class developer experience

Coherence makes it easy to set up and maintain cloud infrastructure. Harness the extensibility, compliance and cost efficiency of the cloud.

Learn more

Top comments (0)

Image of Timescale

Timescale – the developer's data platform for modern apps, built on PostgreSQL

Timescale Cloud is PostgreSQL optimized for speed, scale, and performance. Over 3 million IoT, AI, crypto, and dev tool apps are powered by Timescale. Try it free today! No credit card required.

Try free

👋 Kindness is contagious

Please leave a ❤️ or a friendly comment on this post if you found it helpful!

Okay