**Course Title:** Version Control Systems: Mastering Git **Section Title:** Branching and Merging **Topic:** Resolving merge conflicts. In the previous topics, we covered the basics of branching and merging in Git. However, when working on a project with multiple contributors, conflicts can arise. In this topic, we'll discuss how to resolve merge conflicts effectively. **What are merge conflicts?** A merge conflict occurs when two or more developers make changes to the same file or different files in a repository, and Git is unable to automatically merge those changes. This can happen when two team members are working on different branches, and their changes overwrite each other. **How to identify merge conflicts** When you try to merge two branches with conflicting changes, Git will alert you with a conflict error message. You can also use the `git status` command to check if there are any conflicts. ```bash $ git merge feature/new-feature Auto-merging README.md CONFLICT (content): Merge conflict in README.md Automatic merge failed; fix conflicts and then commit the result. ``` **How to resolve merge conflicts** To resolve merge conflicts, follow these steps: 1. **Open the conflicting file(s)**: Use a text editor or an IDE to open the files that are in conflict. 2. **Identify the conflict(s)**: Look for the conflict markers that Git has added to the file. These markers include `<<<<<<<`, `=======`, and `>>>>>>>`. 3. **Resolve the conflict**: Deciding what happens next is crucial. You may want to accept one version of the changes or merge the changes manually. 4. **Remove conflict markers**: Once you've resolved the conflict, remove the conflict markers and save the file. Here's an example of a conflicted file: ```markdown <<<<<<< HEAD This is the master branch version of README.md ======= This is the feature branch version of README.md >>>>>>> feature/new-feature ``` To resolve this conflict, you might decide to keep both changes: ```markdown This is the master branch version of README.md This is the feature branch version of README.md ``` 5. **Add the resolved file(s) to staging**: Once you've resolved the conflict, add the file(s) to staging using `git add`. ```bash $ git add README.md ``` 6. **Commit the resolved changes**: Commit the resolved changes with a meaningful commit message. ```bash $ git commit -m "Resolved conflict in README.md" ``` **Using `git mergetool`** If you're not comfortable resolving conflicts manually, you can use a merge tool like `git mergetool`. This command opens a graphical interface that helps you resolve conflicts. ```bash $ git mergetool ``` For more information on `git mergetool`, refer to the official Git documentation: [https://git-scm.com/docs/git-mergetool](https://git-scm.com/docs/git-mergetool). **Best practices for resolving merge conflicts** * Communicate with your team members to avoid conflicts in the first place. * Use `git status` to check for conflicts before committing changes. * Resolve conflicts as soon as possible to avoid delaying other team members. * Use a merge tool if you're not comfortable resolving conflicts manually. **Practical exercise: Resolving merge conflicts** Create two branches, `master` and `feature/new-feature`, and commit different changes to the same file. Then, try to merge the `feature/new-feature` branch into `master` and resolve the conflict that arises. **What's next?** In the next topic, we'll cover best practices for branching strategies, including Git Flow and others. Do you have any questions about resolving merge conflicts? Feel free to ask, and we'll be happy to help. Please leave your comments or ask for help.