Fixing an Incorrectly Resolved Git Rebase Conflict After a Force Push

Scenario
You resolved a rebase conflict, but did it wrong. You’ve already committed and force-pushed the branch to your remote (e.g., origin). Now you need to go back and fix the conflict correctly.

Step-by-Step Guide to Fixing the Conflict

1. Identify the Bad Commit
The first thing you need to do is identify the commit where the conflict was resolved incorrectly. You can do this by inspecting your commit history. Run the following command:

lua
git log --oneline

Look for the commit message related to the conflict resolution and take note of the commit hash.

2. Create a Backup of Your Current Branch
Before making any changes to your history, it’s always a good idea to create a backup of the current branch just in case something goes wrong. You can do this by creating a new branch based on your current one:

css
git checkout -b backup-branch

Now, you can safely make changes to the original branch, knowing you have a backup.

3. Use Interactive Rebase to Edit the Bad Commit
To go back and fix the conflict, you’ll use Git’s interactive rebase feature. This allows you to stop at a specific commit, fix it, and continue with the rest of your history.

Run the following command, replacing <commit-hash> with the hash of the commit just before the bad one:

css
git rebase -i <commit-hash>^

When the interactive editor opens, you’ll see a list of your recent commits. Find the commit where the conflict was resolved incorrectly and mark it with edit.

4. Fix the Conflict
Once Git pauses the rebase on the bad commit, you can now fix the incorrectly resolved conflict. Start by checking out the file where the conflict happened and resolving it properly:

csharp
git checkout -- <file-with-incorrect-resolution>

After resolving the conflict correctly, add the file to the staging area:

csharp
git add <file-with-correct-resolution>

5. Amend the Commit
Now that the conflict is resolved correctly, you need to amend the commit. This will replace the previous, incorrect resolution with the correct one:

sql
git commit --amend

6. Continue the Rebase
Once the commit is amended, continue the rebase process so that Git can apply the rest of your commits on top of the corrected one:

kotlin
git rebase --continue

If there are no further issues, the rebase will complete successfully.

7. Force Push the Corrected Branch
Since you’ve already force-pushed the incorrect history to your remote branch, you’ll need to force push again to update the branch with the corrected history:

css
git push --force

This command will overwrite the previous force-push with the updated commit history, including your correctly resolved conflict.

Final Thoughts
Interactive rebasing is a powerful tool that lets you safely fix mistakes, even after you’ve pushed them to a remote repository. The key here is to identify where things went wrong, backtrack using interactive rebase, fix the issue, and continue.

Remember, Git gives you the flexibility to rewrite history—but with great power comes great responsibility. Be cautious when force-pushing changes, especially if other collaborators are working on the same branch. Always communicate with your team to ensure everyone is on the same page.

By following these steps, you can confidently fix any incorrectly resolved conflicts and get back on track!