Git Rebase

Git Rebase

Rebasing re-applies commits from one branch on top of another, maintaining a clean, linear commit history.

Linear History with Git Rebase

gitGraph
   commit id: "C1"
   commit id: "C2"
   branch feature
   commit id: "F1"
   commit id: "F2"
   checkout main
   commit id: "C3"
   checkout feature
   commit id: "Rebased F1'"
   commit id: "Rebased F2'"

Practical Terminal Workflow

Execute the following terminal commands to work with this concept in your workspace:

# Rebase current feature branch onto main
git rebase main

# Abort an ongoing rebase if issues arise
git rebase --abort

Best Practices & Pro-Tips

• Atomic Commits: Keep each commit small, focused, and dedicated to a single logical feature or bug fix.
• Imperative Commit Messages: Write commit titles in imperative mood (e.g., Fix CORS bug rather than Fixed CORS bug).
• Review Diff Before Staging: Run git diff to review unstaged modifications before adding files to the index.

Common Gotchas & Troubleshooting

• Detached HEAD State: Triggered when checking out a specific commit hash directly rather than a branch. Create a new branch with git switch -c <branch-name> to preserve edits.
• Accidentally Staged Binary Files: Run git restore --staged <filename> to remove the file from the index without altering your local workspace copy.

Self-Check Challenge

Open your terminal in a test project directory, execute git status, and verify your current working tree state. Practice running git log --oneline to review commit history.