By name: git description: Use this skill for complex git operations including rebases, merge conflict resolution, cherry-picking, branch management, or repository archaeology. Activates on mentions of git rebase, merge conflict, cherry-pick, git history, branch cleanup, git bisect, worktree, force push, or complex git operations.
Git Operations
Advanced git workflows and conflict resolution.
Decision Trees
Conflict Resolution Strategy
| Situation | Strategy |
|---|---|
| Lock file conflict (pnpm-lock, Cargo.lock, etc.) | Never merge manually. Checkout theirs, regenerate. |
| SOPS encrypted file | Checkout theirs, run sops updatekeys, re-add. |
| Simple content conflict | Resolve manually, prefer smallest diff. |
| Large structural conflict | Consider --ours/--theirs + manual reapply of the smaller side. |
Rebase vs Merge
| Situation | Use |
|---|---|
| Feature branch behind main | git rebase origin/main |
| Shared branch (others have it checked out) | Never rebase. Merge only. |
| Cleaning up messy commits before PR | git rebase -i with squash/fixup |
| Already pushed and others pulled | Never rebase. Use git revert instead. |
Undo Operations
| What happened | Fix |
|---|---|
| Wrong commit message (not pushed) | git commit --amend |
| Last commit was wrong (keep changes staged) | git reset --soft HEAD~1 |
| Last commit was wrong (keep changes unstaged) | git reset HEAD~1 |
| Already pushed bad commit | git revert <hash> (creates new commit) |
| Need to recover something lost | git reflog then git checkout HEAD@{N} |
Lock File Conflicts
Always regenerate, never manually merge:
# pnpm
git checkout --theirs pnpm-lock.yaml && pnpm install && git add pnpm-lock.yaml
# npm
git checkout --theirs package-lock.json && npm install && git add package-lock.json
# Cargo
git checkout --theirs Cargo.lock && cargo generate-lockfile && git add Cargo.lock
# SOPS encrypted files
git checkout --theirs secrets.yaml && sops updatekeys secrets.yaml && git add secrets.yaml
Verify Before You Trust
Regenerating or rebasing is not the same as verifying the result. In a concurrent monorepo, prove it.
Clean-room lockfile check -- after a rebase that touches a lockfile, regenerate in a throwaway worktree and byte-diff before trusting the auto-regen (lockfile tooling silently drops importers mid-rebase):
git worktree add /tmp/lockcheck HEAD
(cd /tmp/lockcheck && pnpm install --lockfile-only)
diff -q /tmp/lockcheck/pnpm-lock.yaml ./pnpm-lock.yaml && echo "IDENTICAL to clean-room regen"
git worktree remove /tmp/lockcheck
Prove a rebase preserved intent -- range-diff shows exactly which commits changed and how:
git tag pre-rebase-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S) # before rewriting
git rebase --onto <new-base> <old-base> <branch>
git range-diff <old-base>...<branch> # every differing commit should be intentional
Archaeology
# Find when a string was added/removed
git log -S "search string" --oneline
# Blame specific lines
git blame -L 10,20 <file>
# Find commits touching a function
git log -L :functionName:file.js
# Binary search for a bug introduction
git bisect start && git bisect bad HEAD && git bisect good v1.0.0
Safety Rules
- Never rebase shared branches
--force-with-leasenot--force(prevents overwriting others' work)- Regenerate lock files -- never merge them
- Backup branch before destructive ops:
git branch backup-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S) - Never commit large binaries -- use Git LFS
- Prove history rewrites -- tag the pre-rewrite head, then
range-diffafter a rebase to confirm every changed commit is intentional
Anti-Patterns
| Anti-Pattern | Fix |
|---|---|
| Manually merging generated lockfiles | Take one side, regenerate with the package tool |
| Rebasing a shared branch | Merge or create a new branch |
Using --force |
Use --force-with-lease only when approved |
| Running recovery commands by habit | Inspect status, log, and reflog first |
| Staging unrelated work | git add <specific-files> |
git checkout <commit> -- <paths> then committing |
It stages silently; check git diff --cached --name-only before each commit or it swallows unintended files |
| Trusting an auto-regenerated lockfile | Verify in a throwaway worktree + byte-diff before relying on it |
| Assuming a rebase kept your commits | Prove it with git range-diff <old>...<new> |
What This Skill is NOT
- Not for routine
git statusor simple commits. - Not permission to rewrite shared history.
- Not a replacement for understanding the diff before committing.