22 Git rebase vs merge

22.0.1 Understanding

22.0.1.1 Merge Strategy

Creates a merge commit that ties two histories together:

Before git pull –no-rebase:

         A (your commit)
        /
---o---o
        \
         B---C---D (remote commits)

After git pull –no-rebase:

           A
          /   \
  ---o---o     M (merge commit)
          \   /
           B-C-D

22.0.1.2 Rebase Strategy

Replays your commits on top of the remote commits:

Before git pull –rebase:

           A (your commit)
          /
  ---o---o
          \
           B---C---D (remote commits)

After git pull –rebase:

                     A' (your commit, replayed)
                    /
  ---o---o---B---C-D

Notice: Your commit A becomes A’ (new commit hash) because it now has a different parent.

22.0.1.3 Pros & Cons

Merge (git pull –no-rebase)

Pros:

✅ Preserves complete history (shows when branches diverged)
✅ Safer - doesn’t rewrite commits
✅ Better for shared branches with multiple collaborators
✅ Maintains context of when integration happened

Cons: - ❌ Creates extra merge commits (can clutter history) - ❌ Non-linear history (harder to follow) - ❌ git log becomes more complex with many merges

Rebase (git pull –rebase)

Pros:

✅ Clean, linear history (easier to read)
✅ No extra merge commits
✅ Perfect for keeping feature branches up-to-date
✅ Makes git log and git bisect simpler

Cons:

❌ Rewrites commit history (changes commit hashes)
❌ Can be dangerous if commits are already pushed and shared
❌ Potential for conflicts during replay (though same as merge)

22.0.1.4 Recommendations

Use Rebase for:

🎯 Pulling from main/master (your typical workflow)
🎯 Keeping feature branches up-to-date
🎯 Solo work or small teams
🎯 When you want clean, readable history

Use Merge for:

🎯 Integrating feature branches into main (via PRs)
🎯 When commits are already shared with others
🎯 When you need to preserve the exact timeline
🎯 Highly collaborative branches

22.0.2 Setting

Based on your workflow (working on main, pulling updates), I recommend:

# Set rebase as default for pulls
git config --global pull.rebase true

# But preserve merge commits when they exist
git config --global pull.rebase merges

The pull.rebase merges option is a nice middle ground: it rebases your commits but preserves any merge commits in your history (useful for PR merges).

Configuration Commands

# Option 1: Always rebase (cleanest)
git config --global pull.rebase true

# Option 2: Always rebase, preserve merges (recommended)
git config --global pull.rebase merges

# Option 3: Always merge (safest, more history)
git config --global pull.rebase false

# Check current setting
git config --global pull.rebase