Resolve a merge conflict step by step

Does this match your situation?

• 'CONFLICT (content): Merge conflict in <file>' appears after a merge, pull or rebase.
• Files contain <<<<<<< HEAD and >>>>>>> markers.
• git status lists files as 'both modified'.

Step-by-step fix

1. See exactly which files are conflicted

   Only the listed files need your attention — Git has already merged everything else automatically. Knowing the scope makes the job feel far smaller than it first appears.

   step 1Copy

   git status
   git diff --name-only --diff-filter=U
   

2. Understand the conflict markers

   Everything between <<<<<<< and ======= is your side; everything between ======= and >>>>>>> is theirs. You are not obliged to pick one — the right answer is often a combination of both.

   step 2Copy

   <<<<<<< HEAD
   const maxHealth = 100;      // your version
   =======
   const maxHealth = 150;      // the incoming version
   >>>>>>> feature/balance
   

   ⚠️Delete all three marker lines when you're done. Leaving one behind is the most common cause of a broken build after a merge.

3. Edit each file to the version you want

   Work through the files one at a time. If one side is wholly correct, Git can take it for you without manual editing.

   step 3Copy

   # take your side entirely:
   git checkout --ours src/config.ts
   
   # take their side entirely:
   git checkout --theirs src/config.ts
   
   # or open a visual three-way merge tool:
   git mergetool
   

4. Mark each file resolved and finish the merge

   Staging a conflicted file is how you tell Git you've settled it. Once all of them are staged, continue — Git creates the merge commit.

   step 4Copy

   git add src/config.ts
   git status              # confirm nothing is left unmerged
   git merge --continue    # during a rebase: git rebase --continue
   

5. Bail out if it's gone wrong

   Abort restores the exact state from before the merge started. There's no penalty for aborting and trying again with a clearer head or a smaller merge.

   step 5Copy

   git merge --abort
   # during a rebase:
   git rebase --abort
   

Why this works

Git merges by finding the common ancestor of both branches and applying each side's changes relative to it. When both sides modified the same region, there is no mechanical way to know which the author intended, so Git stops rather than guess. Marking a file resolved is literally just staging it: the index is what the merge commit will be built from, so once every conflicted path has a single agreed version in the index, the merge can complete.

How to stop it happening again

• Merge or rebase from main frequently — small, regular integrations rarely conflict.
• Keep pull requests small and focused on one area of the codebase.
• Enable git rerere so repeated conflicts during long rebases resolve themselves.
• Agree on formatting and enforce it automatically, so reformatting doesn't manufacture conflicts.

Commands used in this guide

Frequently asked questions