Handling Cherry-pick Conflicts
Sometimes when you cherry-pick a commit, Git might encounter conflicts if the changes in the commit conflict with changes in your current branch. In this step, we'll learn how to handle cherry-pick conflicts and how to abort a cherry-pick operation.
Creating a Scenario with Potential Conflicts
First, let's create a scenario that will result in a cherry-pick conflict:
## Switch to main branch and modify README.md
git checkout main
echo -e "## Cherry Pick Lab\n\nThis is the main branch README." > README.md
git commit -am "Update README in main branch"
## Switch to feature branch and make a conflicting change to README.md
git checkout feature-branch
echo -e "## Cherry Pick Lab\n\nThis README has been updated in the feature branch." > README.md
git commit -am "Update README in feature branch"
Attempting a Cherry-pick with Conflicts
Now, let's switch back to the main branch and try to cherry-pick the commit from the feature branch:
git checkout main
CONFLICT_HASH=$(git log feature-branch --oneline | grep "Update README in feature" | cut -d ' ' -f 1)
git cherry-pick $CONFLICT_HASH
Since both branches modified the same lines in README.md, you should see a conflict:
error: could not apply a1b2c3d... Update README in feature branch
hint: after resolving the conflicts, mark the corrected paths
hint: with 'git add <paths>' or 'git rm <paths>'
hint: and commit the result with 'git commit'
Viewing the Conflict
Let's examine the conflict:
git status
You should see output indicating a conflict in README.md:
On branch main
You are currently cherry-picking commit a1b2c3d.
(fix conflicts and run "git cherry-pick --continue")
(use "git cherry-pick --abort" to cancel the cherry-pick operation)
Unmerged paths:
(use "git add <file>..." to mark resolution)
both modified: README.md
no changes added to commit (use "git add" and/or "git commit -a")
Let's look at the content of the conflicted file:
cat README.md
You should see something like:
## Cherry Pick Lab
<<<<<<< HEAD
This is the main branch README.
=======
This README has been updated in the feature branch.
>>>>>>> a1b2c3d... Update README in feature branch
Resolving the Conflict
To resolve the conflict, we need to edit the file and decide which changes to keep. Let's modify README.md to include both changes:
echo -e "## Cherry Pick Lab\n\nThis is the main branch README.\n\nThis README has also been updated with content from the feature branch." > README.md
Now, let's mark the conflict as resolved and continue the cherry-pick:
git add README.md
git cherry-pick --continue
Git will open an editor with a default commit message. Save and close the editor to complete the cherry-pick.
Aborting a Cherry-pick
Sometimes, you might decide you don't want to resolve the conflicts and would prefer to cancel the cherry-pick operation. Let's create another conflict and then abort the cherry-pick:
## Create another conflicting commit in feature branch
git checkout feature-branch
echo "// This will conflict with app.js in main" > app.js
git commit -am "Modify app.js in feature branch"
## Try to cherry-pick this commit to main
git checkout main
ANOTHER_CONFLICT=$(git log feature-branch --oneline | grep "Modify app.js" | cut -d ' ' -f 1)
git cherry-pick $ANOTHER_CONFLICT
You should see another conflict. This time, let's abort the cherry-pick:
git cherry-pick --abort
You should see that the cherry-pick operation has been cancelled, and your working directory has been restored to its previous state:
git status
Output:
On branch main
nothing to commit, working tree clean
Handling conflicts during cherry-pick operations is an essential skill for Git users. You have three options when you encounter a conflict:
- Resolve the conflict manually, then use
git add and git cherry-pick --continue
- Skip the conflicting commit with
git cherry-pick --skip
- Abort the entire cherry-pick operation with
git cherry-pick --abort
The best approach depends on the specific situation and your project requirements.
