Update from Main

This skill helps update the current branch with the latest changes from origin/main using git rebase.

Quick Start

When the user requests to update their branch with main:

1. Check the current branch name
2. Ensure working directory is clean (no uncommitted changes)
3. Fetch latest changes from origin
4. Rebase current branch onto origin/main
5. Handle any conflicts that arise

Instructions

Step 1: Check current state

# Get current branch name
git branch --show-current

# Check for uncommitted changes
git status

If there are uncommitted changes, ask the user if they want to:

• Commit them first
• Stash them
• Abort the operation

Step 2: Fetch latest changes

# Fetch all latest changes from origin
git fetch origin

Step 3: Rebase onto origin/main

# Rebase current branch onto origin/main
git rebase origin/main

Step 4: Handle conflicts

If conflicts occur during rebase:

1. Show the conflicting files:

git status

2. Inform the user about the conflicts and list the files

3. Explain that they need to:

   • Resolve conflicts manually
   • Run git add <file> for each resolved file
   • Run git rebase --continue
   • Or run git rebase --abort to cancel

4. Offer to help resolve conflicts if the user requests it

Step 5: Confirm success

After successful rebase:

# Show the updated status
git status

# Show recent commits to verify
git log --oneline -5

Inform the user that:

• The branch has been successfully updated with changes from origin/main
• If the branch was previously pushed, they may need to force push: git push --force-with-lease

Important Notes

• Always check for uncommitted changes before starting
• Use git rebase --abort if something goes wrong
• Prefer git push --force-with-lease over git push --force for safety
• If the user prefers merge over rebase, use git merge origin/main instead

Alternative: Merge instead of Rebase

If the user explicitly prefers merge or if rebase fails repeatedly:

git fetch origin
git merge origin/main

This creates a merge commit instead of rewriting history.

Common Issues

• "cannot rebase with uncommitted changes": Stash or commit changes first
• Conflicts during rebase: Help user resolve them or abort and try merge
• Already up to date: Inform user no changes were needed