# Resolving Merge Conflicts

> Use when you need to resolve a conflicted or blocked branch state: in-progress git merge/rebase conflicts, PR branch corrections, or other branch-state blockers that need deliberate resolution.

- Skill: `quantumquirkxyz/resolving-merge-conflicts` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add quantumquirkxyz/resolving-merge-conflicts`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/quantumquirkxyz/resolving-merge-conflicts/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: quantumquirkxyz (https://skillmd.com/u/quantumquirkxyz)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/quantumquirkxyz/resolving-merge-conflicts

---


## Contract

- **Input:** problem or task defined by the skill body.
- **Output:** Markdown artifact or structured result with completion criteria met.
- **Side effects:** none (design/review/documentation only unless explicitly stated).
- **Dependencies:** none (self-contained unless linked to other skills).
- **Stop condition:** all process steps completed; artifact saved; criteria checked.
- **Risk:** low.
- **Boundary:** produces reasoning or documentation artifacts; does not modify external systems unless explicitly instructed.


1. **See the current state** of the branch. Check git history, the conflicting files, and whether the block came from a merge/rebase, from changes made while answering review requests on a PR branch, or from a branch-side correction needed to keep the PR moving.

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, the PR and review-request history, the review comments, and the original issues/tickets.

3. **Resolve each hunk.** Preserve both intents where possible. Where incompatible, pick the one matching the branch goal and note the trade-off. Prefer the most reasonable correction that preserves the PR's changes and surrounding intent. 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 branch-state resolution broke.

5. **Finish the branch-state resolution.** Stage everything and commit. If rebasing, continue the rebase process until all commits are rebased.

6. **Do not merge the PR here.** This skill resolves the branch-side problem only; PR merge/close happens in the dedicated ship workflow after the branch is clean.