Git Conflict Resolution

Resolve Git merge conflicts by intelligently combining changes from both branches while preserving the intent of both changes. This skill follows a plan-first approach: assess conflicts, create a detailed resolution plan, get approval, then execute.

Core Principles

1. Plan Before Executing: Always create a structured resolution plan and get user approval before making changes
2. Prefer Both Changes: Default to keeping both changes unless they directly contradict
3. Merge, Don't Choose: Especially for imports, tests, and configuration
4. Regenerate Generated Files: Never manually merge generated files - always regenerate them from their sources
5. Backup Before Resolving: For deleted-modified files, create backups first
6. Validate with Tests: Always run tests after resolution
7. Explain All Resolutions: For each conflict resolved, provide a one-line explanation of the resolution strategy
8. Ask When Unclear: When the correct resolution isn't clear from the diff, present options to the user and ask for their choice

Workflow

Step 1: Assess the Conflict Situation

Run initial checks to understand the conflict scope:

git status

Identify and categorize all conflicted files:

• Regular file conflicts (both modified)
• Deleted-modified conflicts (one deleted, one modified)
• Generated file conflicts (lock files, build artifacts, generated code)
• Test file conflicts
• Import/configuration conflicts
• Binary file conflicts

For each conflicted file, gather information:

• File type and purpose
• Nature of the conflict (content, deletion, type change)
• Scope of changes (lines changed, sections affected)
• Whether the file is generated or hand-written

Step 2: Create Merge Resolution Plan

Based on the assessment, create a structured plan before resolving any conflicts. Present the plan in the following markdown format:

## Merge Resolution Plan

### Conflict Summary