Merge a branch

Branching · Article 4 of 9 · 2 min read

Merging brings the work from one branch into another.

The short version

git merge takes the commits from another branch and combines them into the branch you are on.

Details

If main has not moved since you branched, Git just moves the main name forward. This is a fast forward. If both branches have new commits, Git creates a merge commit with two parents.

Try it yourself

git switch main
git merge add-greeting
git log --oneline
git branch -d add-greeting

You should see the greeting commit in the history of main. The last command deletes the branch name, not the commit.

Explain it to the duck

When does a merge create a new commit and when does it not?

Tested with: Git 2.51.