paulund/git-merge-main

Merge origin/main into current branch

Steps

1. Fetch and attempt merge

git fetch origin main && git merge origin/main --no-edit

If the merge succeeds cleanly, skip to step 4.

If there are conflicts, git diff --name-only --diff-filter=U lists the conflicted files. Resolve them all before continuing.

2. Resolve conflicts

Read every conflicted file before editing. For each conflict, decide which strategy applies:

Lock files — always take theirs, then reinstall:

• pnpm-lock.yaml, package-lock.json, yarn.lock, bun.lockb: git checkout --theirs <file>, then run the package manager install (see step 3).

Config/manifest files (package.json, pyproject.toml, etc.): Read both sides of the conflict marker. Usually the right answer is to include both sides' additions (e.g. a new dependency from each branch). Resolve manually, keeping all new entries from both sides.

Source files — prefer the better pattern: Read the diff carefully. Take whichever side represents an improvement:

• Structured logging (logger.error) over raw console.error/console.log
• Environment variables over hardcoded URLs or values
• Proper null/undefined guards over silent fallbacks
• try/catch with error handling over bare async calls
• getErrorMessage(err) over inline err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)

When both sides are equally valid, prefer origin/main to stay aligned with the shared baseline.

After editing each file, verify no <<<<<<<, =======, or >>>>>>> markers remain.

3. Reinstall if dependencies changed

If package.json or any lock file was part of the conflict resolution:

pnpm install --frozen-lockfile=false

4. Stage and complete the merge

git add <all resolved files>
git commit -m "Merge origin/main"

Use git commit without --no-edit so the default merge message is used. Don't amend — create the commit fresh.

5. Run quality gate

pnpm test

If tests fail, fix the root cause before presenting the work as done.

Notes

• Never use git merge -X theirs — it blindly discards work from the current branch.
• Never use git reset --hard to escape conflicts; investigate and resolve them.
• If a conflict is ambiguous (both sides look equally valid), take origin/main and flag it to the user.
• If the conflict touches a file you don't understand, read the surrounding code before deciding.