Git Rebase Patterns Advanced rebase techniques for maintaining linear history, managing stacked PRs, and cleaning up commit history. When to Use This Skill Use this skill when... Use something else when... Rebasing feature branches onto updated main Creating branches → git-branch-naming Cleaning up commit history before PR Creating PRs → git-branch-pr-workflow Managing stacked PRs (PR chains) Simple commits → git-commit-workflow Converting merge-heavy branches to linear Basic git operations → git-cli-agentic Linear History Basics Trunk-Based Development
Feature branch lifecycle (keep short - max 2 days)
git switch main git pull origin main git switch -c feat/user-auth
Daily rebase to stay current
git switch main && git pull git switch feat/user-auth git rebase main
Interactive cleanup before PR
git rebase -i main
Squash, fixup, reword commits for clean history
Push and create PR
git push -u origin feat/user-auth Squash Merge Strategy Maintain linear main branch history:
Manual squash merge
git switch main git merge --squash feat/user-auth git commit -m "feat: add user authentication system - Implement JWT token validation - Add login/logout endpoints - Create user session management Closes #123" Interactive Rebase Workflow Clean up commits before sharing:
Rebase last 3 commits
git rebase -i HEAD~3
Common rebase commands:
pick = use commit as-is
squash = combine with previous commit
fixup = squash without editing message
reword = change commit message
drop = remove commit entirely
Example rebase todo list:
pick a1b2c3d feat: add login form fixup d4e5f6g fix typo in login form squash g7h8i9j add form validation reword j1k2l3m implement JWT tokens Advanced Rebase Flags Reapply Cherry-Picks ( --reapply-cherry-picks ) Problem: After merging trunk into your feature branch multiple times (via git merge main ), you want to rebase onto fresh trunk. Default rebase behavior may create conflicts or duplicate commits. Solution: --reapply-cherry-picks detects commits that were already applied via merge and drops the merge commits, keeping only your original changes.
Scenario: You merged main into your branch a few times
git log --oneline
abc123 Merge branch 'main' into feat/auth
def456 feat: add login endpoint
ghi789 Merge branch 'main' into feat/auth
jkl012 feat: add user validation
Rebase onto fresh main, dropping merge commits
git fetch origin git rebase --reapply-cherry-picks origin/main
Result: Clean linear history with just your feature commits
jkl012 feat: add user validation
def456 feat: add login endpoint
When to use: After merging trunk into your branch to resolve conflicts Converting a merge-heavy branch to linear history Before creating a PR to clean up integration merges Update Refs ( --update-refs ) Problem: With stacked PRs (PR chains), rebasing one branch requires manually rebasing all dependent branches. Moving commits between branches in the stack is painful. Solution: --update-refs automatically updates all branches in the chain when you rebase. Combined with interactive rebase, you can reorganize commits across your entire PR stack in one operation.
Scenario: Stacked PRs
main <- feat/auth-base <- feat/auth-oauth <- feat/auth-refresh
Rebase the entire stack onto updated main
git switch feat/auth-refresh git rebase --update-refs main
All three branches (auth-base, auth-oauth, auth-refresh) are updated
No manual rebasing of each branch needed
Interactive rebase to move commits between branches
git rebase -i --update-refs main
In the editor, move commit lines around to reorganize the stack:
pick abc123 feat: add auth base # Will update feat/auth-base
pick def456 feat: add OAuth support # Will update feat/auth-oauth
pick ghi789 feat: add token refresh # Will update feat/auth-refresh
Stacked PR workflow with update-refs:
Create PR stack
git switch main git pull origin main
First PR: Base authentication
git switch -c feat/auth-base
... make commits ...
git push -u origin feat/auth-base
Second PR: OAuth (depends on first)
git switch -c feat/auth-oauth
... make commits ...
git push -u origin feat/auth-oauth
Third PR: Token refresh (depends on second)
git switch -c feat/auth-refresh
... make commits ...
git push -u origin feat/auth-refresh
Main updated - rebase entire stack
git fetch origin git switch feat/auth-refresh git rebase --update-refs origin/main
All branches rebased in one command
git push --force-with-lease origin feat/auth-base git push --force-with-lease origin feat/auth-oauth git push --force-with-lease origin feat/auth-refresh When to use: Managing stacked PRs (PR chains with dependencies) Reorganizing commits across multiple branches Keeping branch hierarchies in sync during rebase Explicit Base Control ( --onto ) Problem: Git's automatic base detection can be ambiguous or incorrect. You want precise control over where commits are rebased. Solution: --onto explicitly specifies the new base, bypassing Git's base detection heuristics.
Syntax: git rebase --onto
Translates to: Take commits from .. and put them onto
Common pattern: Rebase last N commits onto a specific branch
git rebase --onto origin/develop HEAD~5
Takes your last 5 commits and puts them on top of origin/develop
Equivalent to: git rebase --onto origin/develop HEAD~5 HEAD
Example: Move feature commits from old base to new base
Scenario: You branched from develop, but should have branched from main
git switch feat/payment git rebase --onto main develop feat/payment
Takes commits from develop..feat/payment and moves them onto main
Example: Rebase specific commit range
Move commits from abc123 to def456 onto main
git rebase --onto main abc123^ def456
The ^ includes abc123 in the range
Example: Extract commits to new branch
You have commits on feat/auth that should be on separate branch
git switch -c feat/auth-ui feat/auth
Create new branch
git rebase --onto main feat/auth~3 feat/auth-ui
Takes last 3 commits from feat/auth and puts them on main
Common --onto patterns:
Pattern
Command
Use Case
Last N commits on trunk
git rebase --onto origin/main HEAD~N
Rebase recent work onto updated trunk
Change branch base
git rebase --onto
Rebase stacked PRs with cherry-pick detection
git rebase --reapply-cherry-picks --update-refs origin/main
Interactive rebase with explicit base and branch updates
git rebase -i --onto origin/main HEAD~10 --update-refs
Clean up merged history and update dependent branches
git rebase --reapply-cherry-picks --update-refs --onto origin/develop origin/main Conflict Resolution
When rebase conflicts occur
git rebase main
Fix conflicts in editor
git add resolved-file.txt git rebase --continue
If rebase gets messy, abort and merge instead
git rebase --abort git merge main Safe Force Pushing
Always use --force-with-lease to prevent overwriting others' work
git push --force-with-lease origin feat/branch-name
Never force push to main/shared branches
Use this alias for safety:
git
config alias.pushf
'push --force-with-lease'
Quick Reference
Operation
Command
Rebase onto main
git rebase main
Interactive rebase
git rebase -i HEAD~N
Rebase with cherry-pick cleanup
git rebase --reapply-cherry-picks origin/main
Rebase stacked PRs
git rebase --update-refs main
Rebase last N commits
git rebase --onto origin/main HEAD~N
Change branch base
git rebase --onto
Abort rebase and use merge instead
git rebase --abort git merge main Branch Diverged from Remote
Pull with rebase to maintain linear history
git pull --rebase origin feat/branch-name
Or reset if local changes can be discarded
git fetch origin git reset --hard origin/feat/branch-name Lost Commits After Rebase
Find lost commits in reflog
git reflog
Restore to previous state
git reset --hard HEAD@ { N }