Understanding Merge Conflicts and How to Fix Them
Ever been in the middle of coding and suddenly Git throws a scary-looking merge conflict at you? It feels like the tool is confused and asking you to choose between two changes. Let’s break it down in the simplest way possible so it doesn’t feel overwhelming.
What exactly is a merge conflict
A merge conflict happens when two people (or even you working on two different branches) make changes to the same part of a file. Git does not know which change to keep so it just stops and asks for help.
Think of it like this. Imagine two people editing the same sentence in a shared document. One changes the word apple to orange while the other changes apple to banana. When the edits are combined the system doesn’t know which one is correct. That’s a merge conflict.
Why do merge conflicts happen
Conflicts usually happen when:
- Two branches change the same line of code in different ways.
- One branch renames a variable while another changes its value.
- A file is deleted in one branch but modified in another.
Basically, Git gets confused whenever two edits collide.
A simple example of a merge conflict
Let’s say there’s a variable in a file with the value 40.
One issue says the variable should be renamed.
Another issue says the value should be changed to 25.
One branch renames it but keeps the old value.
Another branch keeps the name but changes the value.
When Git tries to merge these branches, it has no idea what to do. Should it keep the rename or the value change? That’s when a merge conflict appears.
How Git shows merge conflicts
When a conflict happens, Git marks the file and highlights the two different versions. It shows one part as “your version” and the other as “their version,” asking you which one to keep, or whether to combine them.
Resolving merge conflicts the smart way
Here’s the key: don’t just delete stuff randomly until Git stops complaining. Look at the code carefully and understand what each change is doing and then decide what makes sense.
In the earlier example the goal was both to rename and update the value. So the correct fix would be to apply both changes together.
Common ways to resolve merge conflicts
- Keep only your changes.
- Keep only the other person’s changes.
- Combine both changes in a way that makes sense.
Most of the time, combining changes thoughtfully is the right move.
When merge conflicts show up
Conflicts can appear in two main situations:
- When a pull request is already open and someone else has merged changes into the same file.
- When you are working locally and try to pull changes from the main branch that clash with your own edits.
In both cases the process is the same: open the file, review the conflicting code, decide what to keep and mark it as resolved.
Final thoughts on merge conflicts
Merge conflicts might feel annoying at first but they are actually Git’s way of protecting the project from broken code. Instead of guessing it asks you to step in and make the call.
So next time you see one do not panic. Just take a deep breath, read the changes and fix it smartly. After all resolving conflicts is a skill every developer picks up sooner or later.
