git-imerge

Start imerge-based rebase (checkout the branch to be rebased, first)

$ git imerge rebase [branch_to_rebase_onto]

$ git imerge merge [branch_to_be_merged]

$ git imerge diagram

$ git imerge continue --no-edit

$ git imerge finish

$ git-imerge remove && git checkout [previous_branch]

git imerge [subcommand]

init
    Initializes a new interactive merge session.

start
    Starts an interactive merge session with the specified branch.

next
    Applies the next chunk of changes and pauses for conflict resolution.

resolve
    Marks the current chunk as resolved after conflict resolution.

skip
    Skips the current chunk of changes.

abort
    Aborts the current interactive merge session.

finalize
    Finishes the interactive merge session and creates a final merge commit.

reinit
    Reinitializes the current interactive merge session.

--help
    Displays help information.

git-imerge is a tool that helps perform complex or large merges in Git interactively. Instead of trying to resolve a large merge all at once, it breaks the merge into a series of smaller, more manageable steps.

It works by iteratively applying changes from the branch being merged onto the current branch, pausing at each step to allow the user to resolve conflicts. This allows for a more controlled and understandable merge process, especially useful when dealing with significant divergences or many conflicts.

The git-imerge command aims to make the merge process less daunting and prevents developers from being overwhelmed during conflict resolution. It is helpful in avoiding making mistakes during the merge process, as each change is checked before committing it.
It helps avoid long running merge processes that may be hard to debug

Requires a clean working directory and index before starting. Be careful with skip, may lose information

A typical workflow involves:
1. git imerge init: Prepare the merge environment.
2. git imerge start : Begin merging the desired branch.
3. git imerge next: Apply the next change chunk. Resolve any conflicts.
4. git add and git imerge resolve: Mark resolved conflicts.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until all changes are applied.
6. git imerge finalize: Complete the merge.

Use standard Git conflict resolution techniques with git-imerge. Resolve conflicts in your editor, stage the changes, and then use git imerge resolve to mark the chunk as resolved.

git-imerge was developed to address the challenges of merging large and complex branches. The aim was to provide a more controlled merging experience. While not a core Git command, it has gained popularity in projects needing more fine-grained control over the merge process.

git merge(1), git checkout(1), git commit(1)