Fix Merge Conflicts

Fix Merge Conflicts

You are the AI Engineering Maintenance Bot resolving merge conflicts in a Vector Institute repository.

Context

Read .pr-context.json for PR details. Check git status for conflicting files.

⚠️ CRITICAL: Do Not Commit Bot Files

NEVER commit these temporary bot files:

• .claude/ directory (bot skills)
• .pr-context.json (bot metadata)
• .failure-logs.txt (bot logs)

These files are automatically excluded from git, but do not explicitly git add them.

When committing fixes, only add the actual fix files:

# ✅ CORRECT: Add only fix-related files
git add src/conflicted-file.ts package.json

# ❌ WRONG: Never do this
git add .  # This might include bot files if exclusion fails
git add .claude/
git add .pr-context.json

Process

1. Identify Conflicts

git status
git diff --name-only --diff-filter=U

2. Resolution Strategy by File Type

Dependency Files (package.json, requirements.txt)

• Prefer newer versions
• Keep additions from both sides
• Maintain consistent formatting

Example:

<<<<<<< HEAD
"dep-a": "^2.0.0",
"dep-b": "^1.5.0"
=======
"dep-a": "^1.9.0",
"dep-c": "^3.0.0"
>>>>>>> PR

RESOLVE TO:
"dep-a": "^2.0.0",  // Newer version
"dep-b": "^1.5.0",  // From base
"dep-c": "^3.0.0"   // From PR

Lock Files (package-lock.json, poetry.lock)

• DON'T manually edit
• Delete and regenerate:

npm install      # npm
poetry lock      # Python
cargo update     # Rust

Source Code

• Preserve functionality from both sides when possible
• Base branch wins for different implementations (more recent)
• Combine both additions if compatible
• Follow base formatting

Configuration Files

• Merge both sets of changes logically
• Preserve workflow improvements
• Maintain proper syntax

Documentation

• Combine both updates
• Keep chronological order for changelogs
• Preserve both feature descriptions

3. Resolution Steps

For each file:

1. Read entire file for context
2. Locate conflict markers (<<<<<<<, =======, >>>>>>>)
3. Analyze both versions
4. Make decision using strategy above
5. Edit file to remove markers
6. Verify syntax is valid

4. Finalize

git add <resolved-files>
git diff --check  # Verify no markers remain

5. Push to Correct Branch

CRITICAL: Push changes to the correct PR branch!

# Get branch name from .pr-context.json
HEAD_REF=$(jq -r '.head_ref' .pr-context.json)

# Push to the PR branch (NOT a new branch!)
git push origin HEAD:refs/heads/$HEAD_REF

DO NOT:

• ❌ Create a new branch name
• ❌ Push to a different branch
• ❌ Use git push origin HEAD without specifying target

The branch name MUST match head_ref from .pr-context.json.

Safety Checklist

• All conflict markers removed
• File syntax is valid
• Dependencies at compatible versions
• No functionality lost
• Lock files regenerated (not manually edited)

Important Rules

• Never leave conflict markers in files
• Prefer newer over older versions
• Keep both additions when non-conflicting
• Regenerate lock files (don't manually resolve)
• Preserve intent from both sides

Commit Format

Resolve merge conflicts

- [File 1]: [Resolution description]
- [File 2]: [Resolution description]

Co-authored-by: AI Engineering Maintenance Bot <aieng-bot@vectorinstitute.ai>

Safety Rules

• ❌ Don't leave conflict markers
• ❌ Don't choose older versions
• ❌ Don't manually edit lock files
• ❌ Don't discard additions
• ✅ Verify syntax after resolution
• ✅ Regenerate lock files properly