Git Merge, Rebase, Squash and Fast forward

To combine multiple commits (squash) from the feature branch into one while merging into the develop branch, an squash merge or interactive rebase approach can be used.

Using IntelliJ Squash

Remove unnecessary commits by squashing intermediate commits into one.

Rebase

An alternate to merge is Rebase. Rebase is used to integrate changes from one branch to another

Interactive Rebase

git rebase -i develop

# pick or squash
pick abc123 First commit message
squash def456 Second commit message
squash hij789 Third commit message

If the changes are pushed into the feature branch on the server, then do an interactive rebase with remote/develop

git rebase -i origin/develop
# squash the commits and then force push
git push --force

Using IntelliJ

Squash the unwanted commits

When to use Rebase?

When your feature branch is local and changing history will not affect others.

• Use git rebase when you want to update your feature branch with the latest changes from the main branch (usually main or develop).
• It’s suitable when you desire a linear commit history for your branch, making it easier to understand the sequence of changes.

Note: git rebase should be used with caution in collaborative environments where rewriting history may affect others. In such cases, consider using git merge to incorporate changes from the main branch.

Fast-Forward

When the merge from branch A happens with Branch B, and Branch B does not have new commits, the fast forward merge happens. You get message “You have performed a fast-forward merge.”

If both the branches to be merged has changes, Recursive merge happens.

git checkout develop
git merge --no-ff feature/new-feature