Resolving Conflict in GitHub: A Step-by-Step Guide
GitHub is a powerful and greatly helpful version control platform for developers. It’s a great tool to collaborate on large teams and build projects together. But with any collaboration comes potential conflicts and issues between contributors. In this article, we’ll cover what conflicts are and how to resolve them on GitHub.
What Are Conflicts in GitHub?
Conflicts in GitHub occur when two (or more) contributors make different changes to the same file. When this happens, the contributors need to decide which changes will be incorporated into the repository. To do this, they use a process known as a merge conflict.
To illustrate this, let’s look at an example. Let’s say two developers have both made changes to the same file in a GitHub repository. When the first developer tries to make the changes, GitHub will prompt them to review the changes and approve them. But when the second developer tries to make their changes, GitHub will tell them there is a conflict. This is because the changes cannot both be accepted and must be resolved.
How to Resolve Conflicts in GitHub
When it comes to resolving conflicts, the best thing to do is to communicate with the other contributor. Here are the steps to follow for resolving conflicts in GitHub:
- Determine the conflict — Before you can resolve the conflict, you must first understand what changes each contributor is making and why they’re necessary. To do this, you can review the code and talk to the other contributor.
- Test the changes — Once you understand the changes, you should test them to make sure they work properly. This will help you ensure that the changes will not negatively impact the repository.
- Decide which changes to keep — Once the changes have been tested, you must decide which changes to keep and which to discard. To make this decision, you should consider the value of the changes and choose the one that is most beneficial to the repository.
- Create a pull request — After you’ve decided which changes to keep, you must create a new pull request that incorporates the accepted changes. This will allow you to merge the changes into the repository.
- Merge the pull request — Once the changes have been accepted, you can merge the pull request and resolve the conflict.
FAQs
What does the term “merge conflict” mean?
A merge conflict occurs when two (or more) contributors make different changes to the same file. To resolve the conflict, the contributors must decide which changes will be incorporated into the repository.
How can I test the changes before I approve them?
You can use Github’s built-in “Review Changes” feature to test the changes before approving them. This will help you ensure that the changes will not negatively impact the repository.
What is a pull request?
A pull request is a request to merge changes into a repository. When the pull request is accepted, the changes can be merged into the repository.
How do I decide which changes to keep and which to discard?
To make this decision, you should consider the value of the changes and choose the one that will be most beneficial to the repository.
How do I merge the pull request into the repository?
Once the pull request has been accepted, you can merge the pull request to resolve the conflict. To do this, you can use GitHub’s “Merge” button.
