How do you resolve a merge conflict in Git?

Identify conflicting files, edit the conflict markers, stage the resolved files, and complete the merge.

GitVersion Control

Overview

A merge conflict happens when two branches change the same lines of a file. Git cannot decide which version to keep, so it marks the conflict and asks you to resolve it manually.

Key Points

•Conflict markers: `<<<<<<<` is your branch, `=======` is the divider, `>>>>>>>` is the incoming branch.
•Edit the file to keep the correct content, then remove all three conflict markers.
•After editing, stage the file with `git add` and then commit.
•`git status` shows all files with unresolved conflicts.
•Use `git merge --abort` to cancel the merge and return to the state before it started.

Examples

What a conflict looks like inside a file

text

<<<<<<< HEAD (your branch)
const greeting = "Hello, world!";
=======
const greeting = "Hi there!";
>>>>>>> feature/update-greeting

Delete the markers and keep the version you want (or combine both).

Step-by-step conflict resolution

bash

# 1. See which files are conflicted
git status

# 2. Open and edit each conflicted file remove markers, keep correct code

# 3. Stage the resolved file
git add src/greeting.js

# 4. Complete the merge
git commit

Repeat steps 2–3 for every conflicted file before committing.

Abort the merge and go back to where you started

bash

git merge --abort

Restores your working tree to its pre-merge state.

Accept one side entirely (theirs or ours)

bash

# Accept the incoming (merging) branch version
git checkout --theirs src/config.js
git add src/config.js

# Accept your current branch version
git checkout --ours src/config.js
git add src/config.js

Use when you know one side is entirely correct.

Pro Tip

VS Code, IntelliJ, and most modern editors highlight conflict markers and show "Accept Current / Accept Incoming / Accept Both" buttons. Using a visual tool is much faster than editing markers by hand.