So you’ve been happily doing:

git pull
git merge

And then someone in your team says:

“Just rebase it.” …and you start questioning your life choices.

WTF Is Git Rebase, Really?

Definition (boring version): git rebase is a command that lets you rewrite the commit history by moving or combining commits onto a new base commit.

Definition (WTF version): Rebase is basically telling Git:

Yo, take my messy branch, pretend I started working from this new place, and make it look like I always had my sh*t together.

Why Even Bother?

Without rebase: Your history looks like:

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

Then you merge:

main ---A---B---C------merge commit
           \           /
            D---E-----

Looks like spaghetti 🍝.

With rebase:

main ---A---B---C
                \
                 D'---E'

(Notice the '? Those are rebased commits. Same code, different timeline.)

The Actual WTF Command

Say you’re on feature branch and want it updated with main:

git checkout feature
git fetch origin
git rebase origin/main

Boom. Feature branch now looks like it was based on the latest main all along. Congratulations, you’re now a Git historian.

Common Rebase Moves

• Interactive Rebase:

git rebase -i HEAD~3

Lets you: ✅ squash commits ✅ rename commits ✅ feel like a time-traveling wizard

• Abort if you panic:

git rebase --abort

(You WILL need this.)

• Continue after fixing conflicts:

git add .
git rebase --continue

When conflicts hit you like a truck…

When to Use Rebase vs Merge

✅ Use rebase when:

• You want a clean history
• You’re working on your own feature branch
• You hate merge commits

❌ Don’t rebase shared branches (like main), or you’ll rewrite history and summon demons in your team Slack.

Pros and Cons of Rebasing

✔ Pros:

• Cleaner history
• No merge commits
• Makes you feel pro

✖ Cons:

• Can cause conflicts
• Rewrite history → danger zone
• Makes newbies(me) cry

Interactive demo

TL;DR WTF

• git merge = keep the mess
• git rebase = rewrite history to look clean
• Do it locally, don’t mess with shared branches
• Always have --abort and coffee ready ☕

🔥 Next WTF Episode:

WTF is git cherry-pick (and why it ruins friendships)