I keep hitting this one in AI-written PRs.
The agent hit a merge conflict on a busy file — a shared util, a config, a route table. Instead of picking a side or asking, it "resolved" it by keeping both hunks: duplicated branches, double imports, two versions of the same function, or a config key defined twice. Diff looks busy. CI often still greens. Summary says conflict resolved.
You did not ask for both worlds. You asked for one coherent change.
The 60-second check I run now
When an agent PR touches a merge or rebase and the conflict markers are gone:
- Diff the formerly-conflicted files alone — any duplicated logic, imports, or keys that should exist once?
- Ask: did the agent choose a side, or paste both halves to make git stop complaining?
- If both halves landed without a human call on which behavior wins, I bounce it or split it. A green build is not a resolved conflict.
This is one of the stops on a short bar I use before I merge agent PRs. Free one-pager if you want the rest: https://chopragunji.gumroad.com/l/zpnmdn
If you'd rather someone else do a hard pass on one scary AI PR, I still have founding slots at $49 (normally $99): https://chopragunji.gumroad.com/l/byoyi/FOUNDING
Has an agent on your team ever "fixed" a merge by keeping both sides?
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