To resolve a three-way Git merge conflict on Linux, inspect the unmerged paths, edit each conflicted file into the intended final form, stage the resolutions with git add, then finish with git merge --continue or git commit. If you need to abandon the merge, use git merge --abort, with care if you had uncommitted work before starting.
1. Find the conflicted paths
Start with:
git statusGit lists unresolved paths as unmerged. A three-way merge compares a common ancestor with the current branch and the branch being merged in. For an unresolved path, the index keeps those versions at stages 1, 2 and 3 respectively: the base, the current HEAD side, and the MERGE_HEAD side.
2. Inspect and resolve each conflict
Open each path reported by git status. In a text file, a conflicting region commonly looks like this:
<<<<<<< HEAD
current branch content
=======
merged-in branch content
>>>>>>> branch-nameThe marker lines are instructions for locating competing text, not content to keep. Edit the file so it contains the intended result. Depending on the code or document, that may mean choosing one side, combining both changes, or writing a different result that preserves their intent. Read surrounding content rather than accepting either side automatically.
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Inspect the three versions directly
When the markers are not enough, retrieve the index versions for a path:
git show :1:path/to/file # common ancestor
git show :2:path/to/file # current HEAD version
git show :3:path/to/file # MERGE_HEAD versionRemove the leading space before git show if copying the second line as a standalone command. Replace path/to/file with the conflicted path. These stage entries are available while the path remains unresolved; after staging the resolution, Git collapses its separate conflict stages.
Use Git’s merge-aware diffs and history
git diffcan show a three-way view of the current and merged-in versions.git diff AUTO_MERGEshows textual resolution work done so far when theAUTO_MERGEref is available.git log --merge -p -- path/to/fileshows commits from either side that touch the unresolved path.
These commands help explain why the conflict occurred; they do not decide which final content is correct.
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Account for conflicts that have no marker block
Not every conflict is a pair of text regions. File-level conflicts and submodule conflicts may need path-specific investigation. Use git status and inspect the relevant path and its diff instead of assuming every unmerged item can be fixed by deleting marker lines.
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3. Stage the resolved paths
After editing and reviewing a path, record your resolution in the index:
git add path/to/fileRepeat for every resolved path. Staging tells Git that the path’s final working-tree content is the chosen resolution; it does not by itself prove that the result is logically correct.
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4. Review and complete the merge
Review the staged result and run the checks appropriate to the repository before completing the merge. When all paths are resolved and staged, finish with either:
git merge --continueor:
git commitgit merge --continue verifies that a merge is in progress before proceeding to commit. A clean conflict status means Git has recorded resolutions, not that the code or document behaves as intended.
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To stop the merge and attempt to return to the pre-merge state, run:
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git merge --abortGit warns that restoration may be incomplete when there were uncommitted changes before the merge, especially if those changes were further modified while resolving conflicts. When practical, start a merge with a clean working tree so the pre-merge state is easier to recover.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.When to use a merge tool instead
git mergetool is optional. It launches a configured merge utility after a merge; without path arguments, it processes files with conflicts. Tools such as meld, vimdiff and kdiff3 may be available, depending on local installation and configuration.
Manual editing is sufficient for the core workflow. A graphical or terminal merge tool can help when it makes the base, current and other versions easier to compare, but inspect the final merged file either way. For a custom tool, Git provides temporary BASE, LOCAL and REMOTE inputs when available and expects the tool to write the result to MERGED.
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Do not confuse -Xours with the ours strategy
These options do different things. The -Xours strategy option favors the current side for conflicting hunks while retaining non-conflicting changes from the other tree. The ours merge strategy ignores the other tree’s contents entirely. Use either only when that is the deliberate result you want; neither is a general-purpose shortcut for understanding and resolving conflicts.
Git’s merge behavior and options are documented in the merge strategies reference and the git-merge reference. The versioned Git 2.50.0 reference identifies ort as the default strategy for a one-branch merge; check git --version and the documentation for your installed Git when relying on version-specific details.
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