How to Merge Without Commit in Git

How to Merge Without Commit in Git

Hey there! Today, I want to share with you an awesome trick that allows you to merge changes in Git without making a commit. It’s a handy technique when you want to combine code from different branches or test out ideas without cluttering your commit history. Let’s dive in!

First things first, make sure you have Git installed on your computer. If you don’t, head over to https://git-scm.com/downloads and grab the latest version. Once you have it installed, open up your favorite terminal or command prompt and let’s get started!

The first step is to switch to the branch where you want to merge your changes. You can do this by running the following command:

$ git checkout <branch-name>

Now that you’re on the right branch, it’s time to merge the changes from another branch. Normally, you would use the git merge command to do this, but we want to merge without committing. To achieve this, we can use the –no-commit flag with the git merge command, like so:

$ git merge –no-commit <other-branch>

By using –no-commit, Git will perform the merge but won’t create a commit immediately. This allows you to make additional changes or review the merging outcome before committing. Super useful, right?

Once the merge is done, you can take a look at the changes and make any desired modifications. You can use the git status command to see the modified files and the git diff command to view the exact changes made.

If you’re happy with the merging outcome, you can proceed to make a commit. Simply run the usual git commit command:

$ git commit -m “Merge changes from <other-branch>”

But hey, if you’re not satisfied with the merge, no worries! You can simply run git merge –abort to undo the merge and start over. Phew, crisis averted!

And that’s it! You now know how to merge changes in Git without committing right away. It’s a nifty technique that gives you more control over your code and helps keep your commit history clean. Give it a try and let your merging adventures begin!

Happy coding!

Hey there! Git is like the go-to system for modern programming. Almost every company that develops and sells professional software uses it because it makes keeping track of code changes a breeze.

When it comes to using Git, you can’t just skip over the Git Merge and Commit commands. Git Merge lets you add the code you’ve been working on to the whole branch. Typically, it’s followed by the Commit command to save those changes.

But here’s the question: Can you use Merge without Commit? Well, this article has the answer for you.

NOTE: If you want to follow along with this tutorial, you should have some programming background and be familiar with the basics of Git.

First Things First

Before we dive into the main part of this article, let’s make sure we’re on the same page with some key concepts. We’ll start with Git Merge.

Git Merge is a command that lets you bring together two or more development histories. In other words, it adds changes from new commits to the existing branch in your Git repository.

The basic syntax for this command looks like this:

git merge [-n] [–stat] [–no-commit] [–squash]

git merge –abort

Usually, people use the Git Merge command through Git Pull, which is another Git command that brings in changes from a different repository. You can also manually use this command when you need to merge changes from one branch to another.

The basic syntax I mostly use for this command is like this:

git commit -m //sets a commit message

git commit -a //includes all changed files in the current commit

git commit –amend // rewrites the last commit

But the Git Commit command does more than just setting commit messages. It actually saves all the changes I’ve made to the local repository.

Let me give you an example to illustrate how it works.

Imagine I create a new branch called “new-feature” from the master branch. Then, I push a commit named “Finished with the new feature.” At the same time, my colleague pushes their own commit called “Colleague’s feature.”

If I create a pull request and my branch gets merged, I’ll see a new merge commit called “Merge Branch new-feature” in my console.

Now, if I’ve been working on GitHub, for instance, I can check the commit history. The user interface will show me all the commits in the order they were pushed. It’s a linear timeline.

This means that if multiple people merge multiple branches of the project, things can get mixed up and tangled. That’s why some developer teams avoid using merge and pull requests altogether.

To avoid mixing up branches and losing important parts of my project, it’s advised that everyone pushes directly to the master branch. This keeps the history linear while maintaining unique branches. But is it possible to develop in branches and merge them without using the Commit command?

Merging in Git without Committing

If I type the “man” command next to Git Merge (man git merge) in my command prompt, I’ll open the HELP page for that command. There, I can read its documentation and find additional arguments to customize its operations.

Based on the documentation, Git Merge automatically calls the Commit command. However, there’s an “autocommit” attribute in Git Merge that can be disabled.

The HELP page also mentions the following:

With –no-commit perform the merge but pretend the merge failed and do not autocommit,

to give the user a chance to inspect and further tweak the merge result before

This means I can add an extra argument to my Git Merge command (–no-commit) to prevent it from automatically activating Git Commit.

My command prompt line should look something like this:

$> ~/git/testrepo$ git merge –no-commit v1.0

Of course, the left side of the command will vary depending on my user name and project, but everything right of “Git Merge” should stay the same.

A common problem that may come up with this type of Git Merge is called Fast Forward. If I see the message “Fast Forward” in the output, I can modify the command line like this: git merge v1.0 –no-commit –no-ff

The –no-ff argument prevents Fast Forwarding and ensures that the command executes as I want it to.

Good Luck With Your Future Projects

Learning Git might take a while, but the fundamentals are pretty straightforward. If you’re trying to improve your Git skills, there are ways to make your work more efficient and save time. One good starting point is skipping the Commit command.

If you need more details about specific commands or arguments, you can find GitHub’s complete documentation.

Have you ever tried doing a Git Merge without committing? Did you receive the Fast Forward message? Share your experience in the comments section below.