Jj Resolve Conflicts

Resolve conflicts in the current jj commit.

Current status

jj st

$ARGUMENTS

Principles

• A resolution preserves the intent of both sides, not just their text. When both sides changed the same logic, produce code that satisfies both intents
• Never delete a conflict marker without understanding what each side changed and why
• The resolved commit passes all checks: format, lint, typecheck, build, test

Workflow

1. Read the status above. If there are no unresolved conflicts, tell the user and stop
2. List the conflicted files with jj resolve --list
3. Find where the conflict came from: jj log -r '::@ & conflicts()' shows the conflicted ancestry. Read the descriptions of the commits whose changes collided to understand each side's intent
4. For each conflicted file:
   • Read the file. Conflicts are materialized with markers (see "Reading conflict markers")
   • If one side should win entirely, run jj resolve --tool :ours <file> (side #1) or jj resolve --tool :theirs <file> (side #2)
   • Otherwise edit the file to a merge that preserves both sides' intent and remove the markers. When the markers alone are unclear, view each side's full file with jj file show -r <revision> <file>
5. Verify all conflicts are gone: jj resolve --list should report none and jj st should show no conflicted paths
6. Infer verification commands from the project's files (e.g. package.json, Makefile, CI config) and run them. If there are none, ask the user
7. jj propagates the resolution to descendants of @ automatically. Run jj log -r 'conflicts()'; any conflicts that remain are distinct and need their own resolution

Reading conflict markers

jj materializes conflicts as a diff to apply, not two alternatives:

<<<<<<< Conflict 1 of 1
%%%%%%% Changes from base to side #1
-old line
+side #1's replacement
+++++++ Contents of side #2
side #2's version of the region
>>>>>>> Conflict 1 of 1 ends

• The %%%%%%% section is a diff: lines starting with - are the base, lines starting with + are side #1's edit, and unprefixed lines are context
• The +++++++ section is side #2's full content for the region
• To resolve, apply side #1's diff to side #2's content, then reconcile the parts that still differ

Fixing mistakes

The next jj command snapshots a wrong resolution. To get the conflict back, find the resolution's operation with jj op log and revert it with jj undo <operation>. With no argument, jj undo reverts the most recent operation.