Resolving Merge Conflicts

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

niekcandaele 977ec42 1.2 KB Updated

File contents

  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. If the repository carries an engineer skill (a <repo>-engineer skill describing how to build, test, and run it), take the commands from there rather than guessing. 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.


Adapted from mattpocock/skills, MIT © 2026 Matt Pocock. Keep this line if you copy this file.

niekcandaele/skills/tree/main/skills/ship/resolving-merge-conflicts commit 977ec42714

Frequently asked questions

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