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If your app broke after git pull, first find out whether Git is still in the middle of a merge or rebase. If the pull completed, treat the app error as a separate troubleshooting problem: inspect what changed, then follow the repository’s setup and test instructions. Don’t rerun the pull or discard local work until you know the repository’s state.
Check Git’s state before changing anything
git pull fetches remote changes and then integrates them into your current branch. As the Git project’s git-pull documentation puts it, “First, git pull runs git fetch with the same arguments (excluding merge options) to fetch remote branch(es).” The integration may fast-forward, merge, rebase, or use squash behavior depending on the options and configuration. An app error after a completed pull does not, by itself, mean Git failed.
- Run
git statusand read the full output. Look for unresolved conflicts or a message that a merge or rebase is in progress. - Check which branch you are on with
git branch --show-current, and note whether the pull finished or stopped partway through. - Identify local edits and untracked files before recovery. Copy or otherwise preserve work you cannot afford to lose.
Do not use a reset or another pull as a first reaction. Git can stop a pull or merge when overlapping uncommitted changes could be overwritten; the git-merge documentation explains this safeguard. Preserving those changes is safer than trying commands until the error disappears.
If a merge or rebase is still in progress
A conflict means Git could not automatically reconcile overlapping changes. Open the affected files and look for conflict markers such as <<<<<<<, =======, and >>>>>>>. These mark competing versions of file content; they are not instructions for which version to keep.
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Resolve and complete the integration
- Review each conflicted file and decide what the final content should be. Keep, combine, or replace the competing changes as appropriate, then remove the conflict markers.
- Stage each resolved file with
git add <file>. The Git user manual describes adding resolved files to the index as part of completing manual conflict resolution. - Follow the status output and the instructions Git gives for the operation in progress to finish it. Then inspect the resulting commit or history before returning to application troubleshooting.
Abandon the operation instead
If you decide not to continue, use the abort command that matches the operation Git reports: git merge --abort for a merge or git rebase --abort for a rebase. Git documents both commands in its git-pull documentation. Do not substitute one for the other or run either when no corresponding operation is in progress. After aborting, check git status again and verify that your local work is intact.
If the branches diverged
Branches have diverged when both your local branch and its upstream have commits the other does not. A fast-forward-only pull cannot reconcile that history, so git pull --ff-only stops instead of creating a merge or rebasing local commits. That stop is a guard, not a signal to force the update.
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Choose a reconciliation method according to the team’s shared history policy:
| Method | History effect | When to consider it |
|---|---|---|
| Fast-forward | Moves the current branch forward when no local divergence needs reconciling; it creates no merge commit. | Use when the local branch has no unique commits and the team wants linear advancement. |
| Merge | Combines the two lines of history and records a merge commit when needed. | Use when preserving the branch histories and their relationship is part of the team’s workflow. |
| Rebase | Replays local commits on top of the updated upstream, rewriting those commits’ history. | Use only when consistent with team policy. Avoid rebasing commits already published for others to build on unless the team has agreed to that workflow. |
| Squash | Combines changes without recording a merge relationship in the same way as a merge. | Use when that history shape is intended by the project’s workflow, not as a universal fix for divergence. |
The available strategies and options are documented by the Git project’s git-pull documentation. If you are unsure which policy applies, pause and ask the team rather than choosing rebase or merge by habit.
If Git completed, investigate the app failure
Once git status shows no unfinished integration, compare the new code with the state that worked. This is general troubleshooting practice; Git’s documentation explains integration mechanics, not the setup commands for your particular application.
- Review the new commits and changed files. For example,
git log --oneline -n 10shows recent commits, andgit diff <known-good-commit>..HEAD --statsummarizes changed files if you know a suitable good commit. - Read the project’s README, contribution guide, and team-specific setup notes. Follow their instructions for dependency installation, configuration, building, and tests; do not assume a command from a different stack applies.
- Run the project’s documented build or tests and capture the first useful error. Determine whether it points to a changed file, a dependency update, missing configuration, or another setup difference.
- Check whether the failure can be reproduced from a clean checkout using the repository’s documented setup. If it happens only in your working directory, inspect local edits, generated files, environment variables, and other machine-specific configuration before changing shared code.
Use the error and the changed files to narrow the investigation. A dependency-related failure calls for checking the project’s declared dependencies and setup guidance; a configuration error calls for verifying required local settings without exposing secrets; a failing test or build should be traced to its specific output. No single install or repair command is appropriate for every repository.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Undo a completed pull carefully
Aborting applies to an operation that is still in progress. After a pull has completed, undoing it is a separate history-recovery decision. First inspect the branch, recent commits, working-tree changes, and any local work that must be preserved. The Git project’s git-reset documentation describes ORIG_HEAD and recovery examples, but reset modes have different effects on the index and working tree.
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In particular, git reset --hard discards local changes; it is not a generic first-aid command. The reset documentation’s recovery example uses git reset --merge ORIG_HEAD to keep local changes while undoing a merge. That example does not make it safe to copy blindly: confirm the current state and intended target first, and preserve important work before applying any reset.
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