Rebase Helper

Rebase Helper

Git rebase guide online. Interactive rebase steps with visual explanation. Learn rebase commands—free Git rebase tool.

Interactive Rebase

⌨️ Command

git rebase -i HEAD~3

📋 Interactive Rebase Actions

pick (p)

Use commit as-is

reword (r)

Use commit, but edit message

edit (e)

Use commit, but stop for amending

squash (s)

Meld into previous commit, edit message

fixup (f)

Meld into previous commit, discard message

drop (d)

Remove commit entirely

📝 Example Todo List

pick a1b2c3d feat: add user authentication
pick b2c3d4e fix: resolve login bug  
pick c3d4e5f docs: update API documentation

Change pick to any action above, then save and close.

📚 Step-by-Step Guide

1

Start Interactive Rebase

git rebase -i HEAD~3

Opens editor with last 3 commits

2

Edit the Todo List

# Change "pick" to desired action

Modify actions for each commit

3

Save and Close

:wq (vim) or Ctrl+S, Ctrl+W (VS Code)

Git processes your changes

4

Resolve Conflicts

git add . && git rebase --continue

If any conflicts arise

5

Complete or Abort

git rebase --continue OR git rebase --abort

Finish or cancel the rebase

💡 Common Scenarios

📦 Squash Last 3 Commits

  1. git rebase -i HEAD~3
  2. Change 2nd and 3rd line to "squash" or "s"
  3. Save and edit combined commit message

✏️ Reword a Commit Message

  1. git rebase -i HEAD~n (where n includes your commit)
  2. Change "pick" to "reword" for target commit
  3. Edit the message when prompted

🗑️ Remove a Commit

  1. git rebase -i HEAD~n
  2. Change "pick" to "drop" or delete the line
  3. Save and let rebase complete

🔀 Reorder Commits

  1. git rebase -i HEAD~n
  2. Rearrange the lines in desired order
  3. Save (may need to resolve conflicts)

🌿 Before vs After Rebase

Before

mainfeature

After Rebase

feature

⚠️ Important Warnings

  • • Never rebase commits that have been pushed to shared branches
  • • Use git rebase --abort if something goes wrong
  • • Create a backup branch before rebasing: git branch backup
  • • Force push is required after rebasing: git push --force-with-lease

Features

  • Interactive guide to interactive rebase (`-i`)
  • Visual explanation of squash, fixup, reword, drop
  • Command generator for common rebase scenarios
  • Conflict resolution tips

Common Use Cases

  • Cleaning up local commit history before merging
  • Updating a feature branch with latest main text
  • Squashing "wip" commits

Git Rebase

Rebasing is the process of moving or combining a sequence of commits to a new base commit. Interactive rebase (`git rebase -i`) is a powerful tool to rewrite history by editing, reordering, or merging commits.

Examples

Valid - Interactive Rebase
git rebase -i HEAD~3
Valid - Rebase on main
git checkout feature
git rebase main

Frequently Asked Questions

Rebase vs Merge?
Merge preserves history exactly as it happened. Rebase creates a linear, clean history but rewrites commit hashes.
Is it safe?
Only rebase branches that *only you* are working on. Never rebase public/shared branches.

Related Tools

Reset Helper

Undo changes

Try it

Workflow

Branching strategies

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💡 Tips

  • Use `fixup` during rebase to merge a commit into the previous one without keeping its log message.