Disable Fast Forward Merging

Introduction

Git is a powerful version control system that allows developers to collaborate on projects efficiently. One of the features of Git is fast forward merging, which allows Git to automatically merge branches that have no divergent commits. However, this feature can sometimes cause issues, especially when working on larger projects with multiple contributors. In this challenge, you will learn how to disable fast forward merging by default.

Skills Graph

Disable Fast Forward Merging

By default, Git uses fast forward merging to merge branches that have no divergent commits. This means that if you have a branch with no new commits, Git will simply move the pointer of the branch you are merging into to the latest commit of the branch you are merging from. While this can be useful in some cases, it can also cause issues, especially when working on larger projects with multiple contributors. For example, if two developers are working on the same branch and both make changes, fast forward merging can cause conflicts that are difficult to resolve.

Tasks

To disable fast forward merging, let's use the repository from https://github.com/labex-labs/git-playground.

1. Navigate to the directory and configure the identity.
2. Create and switch to a branch called my-branch, create a hello.txt file and add "hello,world" to it, add it to the staging area and commit it with the message "Added hello.txt".
3. Disable fast forward merging for all branches.
4. Switch back to the mater branch and merge the my-branch branch, save and exit without changing the text.

Now, Git will always create a merge commit, even if it is possible to fast forward:

commit 6e17a776ab51a89ace069614b0caf1c07915a92c (HEAD -> master)
Merge: ec5ea6d 6d7de91
Author: xiaoshengyunan <@users.noreply.github.com>
Date:   Mon Jul 17 13:30:44 2023 +0800

    Merge branch 'my-branch'

Summary

In this challenge, you learned how to disable fast forward merging by default. This can be useful when working on larger projects with multiple contributors, as it can help prevent conflicts and make it easier to manage changes. By using the git config command, you can disable fast forward merging for all branches, even if it is possible.