How Do I Resolve Merge Conflicts in a Git Repository?

Resolving merge conflicts in a Git repository involves manually resolving conflicting changes between branches. Here's a general overview of the process:

Step 1: Identify Merge Conflict

When you attempt to merge branches and Git detects conflicting changes, it will notify you about the conflicts. You'll see messages like:

Auto-merging <file>
CONFLICT (content): Merge conflict in <file>

Step 2: View Conflicts

Open the conflicting file(s) in your text editor. Inside, you'll see markers indicating the conflicting changes, like:

<<<<<<< HEAD
// Changes from your current branch
=======
// Changes from the branch being merged
>>>>>>> branch-name

Step 3: Resolve Conflicts

Manually edit the conflicting sections to resolve the conflicts according to your needs. You may choose to keep one set of changes, combine them, or make entirely new changes. Remove the conflict markers (<<<<<<<, =======, >>>>>>>) once you're done.

Step 4: Add Resolved Files

After resolving conflicts, add the modified files to the staging area using:

git add <resolved-file>

Step 5: Complete the Merge

Once all conflicts are resolved and staged, complete the merge by committing the changes:

git commit

Step 6: Verify and Push

After committing, verify that the merge was successful and push your changes if necessary:

git status
git push

Note:

• During conflict resolution, you can use git status to check which files are in conflict and which have been resolved.
• In case you want to abort the merge and start over, you can use git merge --abort.

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