Using `git graft` to Merge Branches and Delete Source Branches (with examples)

Introduction

In Git, merging branches is a common operation when working on a project with multiple branches. The git graft command, part of the git-extras package, provides a convenient way to merge commits from a specific branch into another branch and delete the source branch. In this article, we will explore different use cases of the git graft command and provide code examples for each scenario.

Use Case 1: Merging Commits and Deleting Source Branch

Code

git graft source_branch target_branch

Motivation

The motivation for this use case is to merge all the commits that are not present on the target branch from the source branch to the target branch. Additionally, the source branch is deleted after the merge operation is completed. This use case is useful when you want to incorporate changes from a feature branch into the main branch and remove the feature branch once the changes are merged.

Explanation

• source_branch: The name of the branch you want to merge into the target branch. This branch contains the commits that will be merged.
• target_branch: The name of the branch that will receive the merged commits. This branch already exists and will be updated with the new changes.

Example Output

Let’s say we have a project with two branches: feature and main. The feature branch contains two commits that have not been merged into the main branch yet. To merge the commits from the feature branch into the main branch and delete the feature branch, we would run the following command:

git graft feature main

The output will be:

Merging commits from 'feature' into 'main'
Switched to branch 'main'
Your branch is up to date with 'origin/main'.
Updating 'main' with the changes from 'feature'
Deleting branch 'feature'

Conclusion

The git graft command provides a convenient way to merge commits from one branch into another branch and delete the source branch. In this article, we explored a use case for merging commits and deleting the source branch. By using the git graft command, you can easily incorporate changes from feature branches into the main branch and keep your repository clean by removing the feature branches after the merge.