Resolving Merge Conflicts

Resolving Merge Conflicts

Use when you need to resolve an in-progress git merge/rebase conflict.

This skill is imported from mattpocock/skills (MIT) and is model-invoked upstream.

When to use this skill

• Use when you need to resolve an in-progress git merge/rebase conflict.

Instructions

1. See the current state of the merge/rebase. Check git history, and the conflicting files.

2. Find the primary sources for each conflict. Understand deeply why each change was made, and what the original intent was. Read the commit messages, check the PRs, check original issues/tickets.

3. Resolve each hunk. Preserve both intents where possible. Where incompatible, pick the one matching the merge's stated goal and note the trade-off. Do not invent new behaviour. Always resolve; never --abort.

4. Discover the project's automated checks and run them, typically typecheck, then tests, then format. Fix anything the merge broke.

5. Finish the merge/rebase. Stage everything and commit. If rebasing, continue the rebase process until all commits are rebased.

Examples

• Apply this skill to one narrow scope first, confirm the output matches the shape described above, then widen to the full task.
• When a step needs a fact from the repository or the environment, look it up instead of asking the user for it.

Best practices

• Keep the upstream procedure intact; record deviations explicitly instead of silently improvising.
• Stop and hand control back to the user at every decision point this skill marks as theirs.
• Prefer small reversible changes, and state assumptions rather than burying them.

References

• Upstream skill: mattpocock/skills skills/engineering/resolving-merge-conflicts/SKILL.md (commit 3cca18b, MIT)
• Project standards: .agent-skills/skill-standardization/SKILL.md
• Validator script: .agent-skills/skill-standardization/scripts/validate_skill.sh