How to Fix Git Rebase Conflict Error

In this tutorial, you'll learn about How to Fix Git Rebase Conflict Error. We cover key concepts, practical examples, and best practices.

You run git rebase and get Resolve all conflicts manually, mark them as resolved with "git add", and run "git rebase --continue" — Git cannot automatically rebase because of conflicting changes.

The Problem

Auto-merging index.html
CONFLICT (content): Merge conflict in index.html
error: could not apply abc1234... Update header
Resolve all conflicts manually, mark them as resolved with
"git add/rm <conflicted_files>", then run "git rebase --continue".

Step-by-Step Fix

Step 1: Identify conflicted files

git status

rebase in progress; onto def5678
You are currently rebasing branch 'feature' on 'def5678'.
  (fix conflicts and then run "git rebase --continue")

Unmerged paths:
  both modified:   index.html

Step 2: Resolve the conflict

Open the file, find conflict markers:

<<<<<<< HEAD (current change)
<h1>Current version</h1>
=======
<h1>Incoming version</h1>
>>>>>>> abc1234 (Update header)

Edit to keep the correct version and remove markers.

Step 3: Mark as resolved

git add index.html

Step 4: Continue the rebase

git rebase --continue

Step 5: Skip a problematic commit

If you want to skip a commit that causes conflicts:

git rebase --skip

Step 6: Abort the rebase

If you want to start over:

git rebase --abort

Step 7: Use interactive rebase with conflict strategy

git rebase -X theirs main   # Auto-resolve using incoming changes
git rebase -X ours main     # Auto-resolve using current changes

Prevention Tips

• Rebase frequently to minimize divergence
• Use git pull --rebase instead of git pull
• Break large commits into smaller ones
• Rebase on a clean working tree
• Use git rebase --interactive to squash or reorder commits

Common Mistakes with rebase conflict

1. Forgetting that lazy evaluation defers computation until the value is forced, causing space leaks with unevaluated thunks
2. Using return to exit a function early instead of wrapping a pure value in the monad
3. Mixing let bindings with <- bindings in do notation, producing type errors

These mistakes appear frequently in real-world GIT code. DodaTech's contributors have identified these patterns through analysis of open-source projects and production systems.

Practice Exercise

Write a pure function that safely divides two integers using Maybe, then test it with edge cases like division by zero and negative numbers.

This exercise reinforces the concepts covered in this guide. Try implementing it before checking online solutions.

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