Most Git and pull request problems have distinct causes: a non-fast-forward rejection means the remote has commits you lack; a conflict needs a considered content resolution; and authentication, access, or branch protection errors require permissions or credential fixes—not another pull. Check your repository’s contribution instructions and inspect your branch, remote, and working tree before changing history.
Start by checking the project instructions and your Git state
Read the repository’s contribution guide and pull-request template first. They may specify the target branch, required tests, commit conventions, and whether contributors should merge or rebase. Git provides the operations; the project’s instructions determine which workflow to use.
Before integrating incoming changes, inspect your current branch, remotes, recent history, and working tree:
git status
git branch --show-current
git remote -v
git log --oneline --graph --decorate --all -20Check that you are on the intended branch and that the remote points to the right repository. If you have unfinished edits, commit them or save them safely before pulling or merging. VS Code’s source-control troubleshooting guide also recommends checking the branch and remote and saving local work before pulling.
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“Rejected: non-fast-forward” or “fetch first”
This usually means the remote branch has commits your local branch does not. Git rejects the push rather than silently discarding that remote history. Fetch the branch, inspect the commits you do not have, and integrate them using the project’s merge or rebase convention before pushing again. See GitHub’s non-fast-forward guidance and the Git push manual.
For a merge-based workflow, after confirming the correct remote and branch, you can use:
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git fetch origin
git log --oneline --graph HEAD..origin/<branch>
git merge origin/<branch>
# Resolve conflicts if needed, then:
git push origin HEADReplace <branch> with the actual remote branch name. Review the fetched commits before merging so you know what will be incorporated. If the project asks for rebase instead, use that workflow rather than blindly copying the merge commands.
Choose merge, rebase, or fast-forward-only deliberately
| Choice | Effect on history | Best fit | Main caution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merge | Combines histories and may create a merge commit. | The project expects merge commits, or the branch is shared. | It can add a merge commit to the contribution history. |
| Rebase | Reapplies local commits on a new base, giving them new commit identities. | The project requests linear history and the commits are local or coordinated. | It rewrites history; avoid casually changing commits others already use. |
| Fast-forward-only | Moves the branch pointer only if no divergence needs integrating. | You want Git to stop rather than create a merge or rebase. | It refuses to proceed when local and upstream histories have diverged. |
Git’s pull documentation describes merge, rebase, and fast-forward-only behavior. When you see “You have divergent branches,” each side has commits the other lacks; choose the integration method that fits the project. If its convention is unclear, ask a maintainer. Prefer an explicit choice for the operation over changing global Git settings just to silence a prompt.
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“This branch has conflicts” or “Automatic merge failed”
A conflict means Git cannot safely determine the final content. It can happen when branches edit the same lines or when one changes a file another deletes. GitHub puts it plainly: “Merge conflicts block merging because Git cannot safely choose which version of the conflicting content to keep.” Its merge-conflict guide explains that unresolved conflicts prevent a pull request from merging; simple line conflicts may be resolved on GitHub, while more complex ones may need a local clone.
Resolve a merge conflict locally
- Open each conflicted file and review the surrounding code or text, not just the marked lines.
- Choose and edit the intended combined result. Remove Git’s conflict markers, such as
<<<<<<<,=======, and>>>>>>>. - Run the relevant tests or checks, then stage the resolved files with
git add <file>. - Complete the merge using Git’s indicated next step, and inspect the resulting diff before pushing.
Resolve a rebase conflict
Edit the conflicted files to the intended result, stage them, and continue the rebase with git rebase --continue. If you decide the rebase should not proceed, git rebase --abort exits it and returns to the pre-rebase state. Do not choose “ours” or “theirs” mechanically: understand which changes are involved and verify the final diff.
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“Permission denied,” “Authentication failed,” or a protected-branch rejection
These errors are not necessarily history problems. Check the full message and the fetch and push URLs shown by git remote -v; then match the remedy to the cause. Microsoft’s VS Code troubleshooting guide covers common source-control connection and access failures.
- Authentication failed over HTTPS: Check that you are using the intended account and that your saved credentials are current.
- “Permission denied (publickey)” over SSH: Check that the right SSH key is available to your agent and associated with the intended account.
- Authentication succeeds, but you lack write access: Ask a maintainer for access or push a feature branch to a fork you own, then open a pull request.
- The host reports a protected branch or repository rule: Push to an allowed feature branch and follow the project’s required pull-request checks. Repeated pulls do not grant permission, and force-pushing does not bypass branch policy.
“Refusing to merge unrelated histories”
This message means Git cannot find a common ancestor between the histories and is refusing to merge them by default. In routine contribution work, first check whether you selected the wrong remote or branch, or whether the repositories were initialized separately. Git documents --allow-unrelated-histories as an explicit override for independently started histories—not a routine repair flag. Confirm the repositories and branches before considering it. See the Git pull documentation.
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When force-pushing is—and is not—the right fix
Do not use git push --force to get past an ordinary non-fast-forward rejection. A force push replaces remote history and may discard commits; it is appropriate only when replacing that history is intentional, the branch is yours to rewrite, and collaborators are not depending on the existing commits. If you amended or rebased a personal branch, check who may have fetched its old commits and coordinate if uncertain.
--force-with-lease is a more cautious option in some workflows, but it still rewrites remote history. Use it only when the repository permits rewriting and you understand the consequences; hosting policies may reject it. The Git push manual explains the risks of non-fast-forward updates and force pushing.
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