Git Rebase vs Git Merge: What's the Difference and When to Use Them?

In modern software development, Git is the go-to version control system. Whether you're working solo or in a team, understanding Git commands like merge and rebase is critical. Both commands are used to integrate changes from one branch into another, but they work very differently under the hood. In this blog post, we'll explore Git Rebase vs Git Merge—when to use them, their pros and cons, and practical examples.

What is Git Merge?

git merge integrates changes from one branch into another by creating a new merge commit. This commit has two parents—representing the tip of the branches being merged—and ties their histories together.

Example:

git checkout main git merge feature-branch 

This merges feature-branch into main, resulting in a new commit on main that combines both histories.

Advantages of Merge:

• Preserves history: All commits and branches remain intact.
• Safe for collaboration: Ideal when working in teams.
• Clear context: Merge commits show exactly when and why branches were combined.

Disadvantages of Merge:

• Messier history: Especially when merging frequently.
• More commits: Can clutter the commit log with many merge commits.
• Harder to follow linear progression.

What is Git Rebase?

git rebase moves or “re-applies” commits from one branch onto another. It creates a linear history by rewriting commit hashes.

Example:

git checkout feature-branch git rebase main 

This takes the commits in feature-branch and "replays" them on top of main, as if the feature was built directly on the latest version of main.

Advantages of Rebase:

• Cleaner history: Results in a linear, easy-to-read log.
• Better for bisecting: Easier to isolate issues in linear histories.
• No unnecessary merge commits.

Disadvantages of Rebase:

• Rewrites history: Can cause issues if the branch is shared with others.
• Risky when misused: Especially when rebasing pushed/public branches.

Visualizing Merge vs Rebase

Let's say you have this commit tree:

A---B---C (main) \ D---E (feature) 

After git merge feature into main, you get:

A---B---C-------F (main) \ / D---E (feature) 

F is the merge commit combining both histories.

After git rebase main while on feature, you get:

A---B---C---D'---E' (feature) 

D and E are copied as new commits (D', E') on top of C.

When to Use Git Merge

Use merge when:

• You're collaborating with others on a shared branch.
• You want to preserve the true history of how and when changes were introduced.
• You're doing long-running feature branches and want clarity on how they were merged.

Ideal for:

• Teams
• Open-source projects
• Master/production integration

When to Use Git Rebase

Use rebase when:

• You’re working solo or on a private branch.
• You want a clean and linear commit history.
• You're preparing a feature for a pull request (PR) and want to avoid clutter.

Ideal for:

• Personal branches
• Squashing before PRs
• Cleaning up history before merging

Golden Rules of Rebase

1. Never rebase public branches.
2. Use rebase for cleaning up local commits.
3. Always check what branch you're on before rebasing.
4. Use git pull --rebase to avoid merge commits during updates.

Rebase Workflow in Practice

Let’s say your branch is outdated:

# Switch to your feature branch git checkout feature # Rebase onto the latest main git fetch origin git rebase origin/main 

If there are conflicts, Git will pause and let you resolve them:

# After resolving git add . git rebase --continue 

Once done:

# Push changes git push --force-with-lease 

Note: Use --force-with-lease to avoid overwriting others’ work accidentally.

Merge Workflow in Practice

# Switch to the main branch git checkout main # Merge feature git merge feature # Push git push origin main 

In case of conflicts, resolve them and complete the merge:

git add . git commit 

Developer Opinions: Merge vs Rebase

• Linus Torvalds (creator of Git) favors merge for public history.
• Many developers use rebase for local work, then merge into main to keep collaborative history intact.

A common modern workflow is:

Local rebase ➡ Clean PR ➡ Merge to main

Summary: Rebase vs Merge

Final Thoughts

Both git merge and git rebase are powerful tools—each suited to different use cases. If you're working with a team, merging is often the safer choice. If you're cleaning up your personal commits, rebasing gives you a clean and professional history.

As a rule of thumb:

• Use merge for collaboration and transparency.
• Use rebase for cleanup and clarity.

Understanding both commands deeply will make you a more effective and confident Git user.