Git Rebase Example with Commands
Create a new directory, initialize a new git repository and add a simple script to main branch.
mkdir git-rebase-demo
cd git-rebase-demo
git init
echo '# script.py - Git rebase demo
def greet():
print("Hello, world!")
if __name__ == "__main__":
greet()
' > script.py
git add script.py
git commit -m "M1: Initial commit - Add greet function"
Create a new branch from the main branch and change the greet() function and add a new farewell() function.
git checkout -b feature-branch
echo '# script.py - Git rebase demo
def greet():
print("Hello, from the feature branch!")
def farewell():
print("Goodbye, world!")
if __name__ == "__main__":
greet()
farewell()
' > script.py
git commit -am "F1: Add farewell function"
Add a missing comment to the greet function and create a new commit.
echo '# script.py - Git rebase demo
def greet():
print("Hello, from the feature branch!") # Changed in the feature branch
def farewell():
print("Goodbye, world!")
if __name__ == "__main__":
greet()
farewell()
' > script.py
git commit -am "F2: Add comment to greet function"
Change the line in the greet() function on the main branch.
git checkout main
echo '# script.py - Git rebase demo
def greet():
print("Hello, Universe!") # Changed in main
if __name__ == "__main__":
greet()
' > script.py
git commit -am "M2: Update greet function to say 'Hello, Universe!'"
Rebase the feature-branch on top of the main branch.
git checkout feature-branch
git rebase main
This will result in conflicts with both commits. You’ll need to resolve these conflicts manually in your editor.
git add script.py
git rebase --continue
Confirm that the rebase is complete.
git log --oneline --graph --all
Add new changes to the feature-branch and commit them.
echo '# script.py - Git rebase demo
def greet():
print("Hello, Universe!") # Changed in main
def farewell():
print("Goodbye, Universe!") # Make this to match the main branch
if __name__ == "__main__":
greet()
farewell()
' > script.py
git commit -am "F3: Make farewell function match the main branch"
Add new function to main branch.
git checkout main
echo '# script.py - Git rebase demo
def greet():
print("Hello, Universe!") # Changed in main
def optional_greet():
print("Hello, optional!")
if __name__ == "__main__":
greet()
optional_greet()
' > script.py
git commit -am "M3: Add optional greet function"
git checkout feature-branch
git rebase main
Now we have to fix conflicts from the main branch with 3 different commits. We already resolved the first 2 conflicts last time.
Add the “reuse recorded resolution” setting to git and try again.
git config --global rerere.enabled true
It remembers how conflicts were resolved previously and it applies those same resolutions again.