For instance, we might conclude that rebasing semantic branches, but insisting on a merge commit, is perfectly fine, because it is where the feature (the semantic entity) enters the master branch which is important, not where the development first started. By using the above principles as guidance, we will become more conscious of where these operations will serve us or add more clutter. We can use this to our advantage to create a clear story, a more readable git log (It is important to create a story, remember?). Rebase and merge serve two different purposes. Rebase, visit our Merging vs Rebasing guide. Alternatively, rebase has powerful history rewriting features. Merge is always a forward moving change record. The other change integration utility is git merge. Here we have two branches, master and feature_A. Rebase is one of two Git utilities that specializes in integrating changes from one branch onto another. Rebase gives you the opportunity to move the base of a branch to a newīase. Which situations they are an advantage to use. Let us take a closer look at rebase and merge, how they differ and in Clearly, they are not, but should we treat That you can merge or alternatively rebase, like merge and rebase are To accept merge requests without creating merge commits.During a CodeRefinery workshop you might have heard an instructor say

Withįast-forward merge requests, you can retain a linear Git history and a way This method is equivalent to git merge -ff for regular merges, and to git merge -squash for squash merges.

In such cases, the fast-forward merge is appropriate. Sometimes, a workflow policy might mandate a clean commit history without See where every branch began and was merged. This merge method creates a cleaner-looking history, while still enabling you to If your source branch is based on an out-of-date version of the target branch (such as main), This method is equivalent to the same Git commands as in the Merge commit method.

When a fast-forward merge is not possible, the user is given the option to rebase, see For one thing, it means that a rebased head cannot be pushed to a remote server, because it does not result in a fast forward merge.

Method selected, you can accept it only if a fast-forward merge is possible. When you visit the merge request page with Merge commit with semi-linear history They are equivalent to the command git merge -no-ff ,Īnd selecting Merge commit as the Merge method in the GitLab UI: These diagrams show how the feature branch merges into main if you use the In both a squash commit and a merge commit being added to your main branch.

Require: Squashing is always performed, and the user cannot change the behavior.īy default, GitLab creates a merge commit when a branch is merged into main.Ī separate merge commit is always created, regardless of whether or not commitsĪre squashed when merging.

Encourage: Squashing is on by default, but the user can change the behavior.

Allow: Squashing is off by default, but the user can change the behavior.

Do not allow: Squashing is never performed, and the user cannot change the behavior.

In Squash commits when merging, select the default behavior for handling commits:.

Select your desired Merge method from these options:.

On the left sidebar, select Settings > Merge requests.

On the top bar, select Main menu > Projects and find your project.

Git rebase fast forward