rockcookies/git-rebase-surgeon

Git Rebase Surgeon

Rewrite history safely — validate, operate, push with --force-with-lease.

Pre-flight — the safety gate

Stop immediately if either check fails:

| Check | Command | Fail condition | Stop message | |-------|---------|----------------|--------------| | Clean tree | git status --short | Any output | "Stash or commit changes first" | | Safe branch | git branch --show-current | main or master | "Never rebase a protected branch" |

Both must pass before proceeding.

Strategy

| User says | Strategy | Command | |-----------|----------|---------| | Squash/edit last N, or a count like "3" | Interactive | git rebase -i HEAD~N | | Sync with upstream / "pull rebase" | Rebase pull | git pull --rebase origin main | | Move onto another branch | Standard | git rebase <branch> | | Auto-squash fixups | Auto-squash | git rebase -i --autosquash <target> |

Workflow

1. Validate

Run both pre-flight checks.

2. Confirm the plan

🔧 Rebase Plan

Target:   HEAD~3
Strategy: Interactive
Command:  git rebase -i HEAD~3

⚠️  This rewrites history. Force push required after completion.

Proceed? [y/n]

3. Execute

Run the rebase command.

4. Handle conflicts

When the rebase pauses, report the conflicting files from git status:

⚠️  Rebase Conflict

Conflicting files:
  - src/api/handler.ts
  - src/utils/parser.ts

Resolve in editor, then:
  git add <resolved-files>
  git rebase --continue

To abort: git rebase --abort

5. Push

git push --force-with-lease

Always --force-with-lease, never --force.