Preserving history
---

Merging and rebasing are two strategies for incorporating changes from one branch into another. Supposing two branches, `master` and `feature`, Git preserves the commit history of `feature` on `master` differently depending on the strategy you choose.

Merging gives feature work substance. Git memorializes the origin of commits from `feature` and commemorates the final merge with a dedicated "merge commit". By contrast, rebasing keeps your commit history on `master` linear and therefore more searchable.

Merge demo
---

The following sequence of commands adds some commits to `master`, creates a branch `feature`, then merges `feature` into `master`. The resulting graph shows how Git preserves the work done on `feature`.

echo 1 > main.txt
git add main.txt
git commit -m "1"
echo 2 > main.txt
git commit -am "2"

git checkout -b feature
echo 3 > feature.txt
git add feature.txt
git commit -m "3"

git checkout -
echo 4 > main.txt
git commit -am "4"

git merge feature --no-edit

echo 5 > main.txt
git commit -am "5"

git log --graph --pretty=oneline --abbrev-commit

* aedc5d2 5
*   ca52804 Merge branch 'feature'
|\
| * 05b86ef 3
* | 593c8c0 4
|/
* fb9a721 2
* cbfa685 1

Rebase demo
---

The only difference in the following sequence of commands is rebasing `feature` on top of `master`. The resulting graph is a straight line with no mention of `feature`.

echo 1 > main.txt
git add main.txt
git commit -m "1"
echo 2 > main.txt
git commit -am "2"

git checkout -b feature
echo 3 > feature.txt
git add feature.txt
git commit -m "3"

git checkout -
echo 4 > main.txt
git commit -am "4"

git rebase feature

echo 5 > main.txt
git commit -am "5"

git log --graph --pretty=oneline --abbrev-commit

* 824e964 5
* 5164ca2 4
* 4905a5f 3
* f0b3d04 2
* 2d84cee 1

Conclusion
---

Both merging and rebasing involve different workflows for resolving code conflicts and working with collaborators. Before diving into the particulars of each strategy, decide if your team prefers the searchability of rebasing or the heft of merging.

Git: Should I merge or rebase my feature branch?

Preserving history

Merge demo

Rebase demo

Conclusion