git-rebase

mhalder's avatarfrom mhalder

Guide interactive rebasing, commit squashing, and conflict resolution. Use when the user says "squash commits", "rebase onto main", "interactive rebase", "clean up commits", "fix commit history", or asks about rebasing.

⭐0stars🔀0forks📁View on GitHub🕐Updated Jan 5, 2026
[Developer Tools]

When & Why to Use This Skill

This Claude skill streamlines Git workflow management by providing expert guidance on interactive rebasing, commit squashing, and conflict resolution. It helps developers maintain a clean, professional, and linear commit history while ensuring safety through automated checks, backup suggestions, and non-interactive alternatives for complex version control tasks.

Use Cases

  • Squashing multiple small or 'work-in-progress' commits into a single logical commit before a Pull Request review.
  • Updating a feature branch with the latest changes from the main branch using rebase to avoid unnecessary merge commits.
  • Resolving complex merge conflicts step-by-step with safety backups to prevent data loss during history rewrites.
  • Cleaning up commit history by rewording messages, dropping unnecessary commits, or reordering changes for better project documentation.
  • Performing safe 'soft resets' and 'fixups' as non-interactive alternatives when standard interactive rebasing is restricted.
namegit-rebase
descriptionGuide interactive rebasing, commit squashing, and conflict resolution. Use when the user says "squash commits", "rebase onto main", "interactive rebase", "clean up commits", "fix commit history", or asks about rebasing.
allowed-toolsBash, Read

Git Rebase

Guide through interactive rebasing, squashing commits, and resolving conflicts.

Instructions

  1. Check current branch state: git status and git log --oneline
  2. Identify rebase target (main, specific commit, etc.)
  3. Guide through the rebase process step by step
  4. Help resolve conflicts if they occur
  5. Verify final state

Common operations

Squash last N commits

# Squash last 3 commits into one
git rebase -i HEAD~3

# In editor, change 'pick' to 'squash' (or 's') for commits to squash
# Keep 'pick' for the first commit

Rebase onto main

git fetch origin
git rebase origin/main

Rebase interactive options

pick   = use commit
reword = use commit, but edit message
edit   = use commit, but stop for amending
squash = meld into previous commit
fixup  = like squash, but discard message
drop   = remove commit

Conflict resolution

# See conflicting files
git status

# After fixing conflicts in files
git add <file>
git rebase --continue

# To abort and return to original state
git rebase --abort

# To skip a problematic commit
git rebase --skip

Safety checks

# Before rebasing, create backup branch
git branch backup-branch

# Check if branch has been pushed
git log origin/<branch>..<branch>

# If commits are pushed, warn about force push

Rules

  • MUST check if commits have been pushed before rebasing
  • MUST warn about force push requirements after rebasing pushed commits
  • MUST suggest creating a backup branch for complex rebases
  • Never use -i flag (interactive mode not supported)
  • Never force push to main/master
  • Never rebase public/shared branches without explicit approval
  • Always show git log --oneline before and after

Non-interactive alternatives

Since interactive mode (-i) requires manual editor input, use these instead:

# Squash all commits on branch into one
git reset --soft origin/main && git commit -m "message"

# Fixup a specific commit (auto-squash)
git commit --fixup=<commit>
git rebase --autosquash origin/main

# Reword last commit
git commit --amend -m "new message"