editing commits with git rebase

Question

I'm having a problem with editing commits.

I have 2 commits for 2 .php files. My goal is to edit them both. I read about rebase -i and this is what I reckon is supposed to be done:

first I change pick to edit;
save and exit;
rebase stops;
type git commit --amend;
make changes, save and close the text editor;
type git rebase --continue.

After this I believe the rebase stops again and I have to do this all over again for the second commit.

But right after I type git rebase --continue i get this:

file1.php: needs update
You must edit all merge conflicts and then
mark them as resolved using git add

What is the problem and what do I do?

Yes, those are the only two commits in the entire history. As for the second question, when I open the file it says 'The file changed on disk. Do you want to reload the file'. Is it supposed to do that? — EmptyClip, Jan 19 '14 at 01:02
Is it an option to squash the two commits into one and edit that one? — Agis, Jan 19 '14 at 01:59
Please don't add solutions inside questions - post them as an answer. — halfer, May 02 '14 at 10:06

Marcin Zajączkowski · Accepted Answer · 2014-01-19T00:52:42.793

7

When you stop for the rebase you have to:

edit a file(s)
add changes to the index - git add changedFile
amend changes - git commit --amend
continue rebasing - git rebase --continue

From your description it is possible that you forgot to add changes to the index. In that case git commit --amend does nothing (there is no changes to amend). In addition you have git commit --amend before you edit the file which is also wrong (you have to amend changes you already did on the file).

Try to apply steps in the order I gave.

edited Jan 19 '14 at 00:52

answered Jan 19 '14 at 00:45

Marcin Zajączkowski

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I gave it a try. I changed the file, did the 'git add', did the '--amend' and the '--continue'. Then i got this error: could not apply 21e61c9... second commit. Git then refers me to --continue, --skip and --abort commands. – EmptyClip Jan 19 '14 at 01:10
That error is expected when your change conflicts with the original changes in the following commits. Call `git status` to see how does it look like. Pay attention to the line with `both modified`. – Marcin Zajączkowski Jan 19 '14 at 01:19
# HEAD detached from 7deb658 # You are currently rebasing branch 'master' on '7deb658'. # (fix conflicts and then run "git rebase --continue") # (use "git rebase --skip" to skip this patch) # (use "git rebase --abort" to check out the original branch) # # Unmerged paths: # (use "git reset HEAD ..." to unstage) # (use "git add ..." to mark resolution) # # both modified: show-dir-content.php – EmptyClip Jan 19 '14 at 01:25
As predicted you have a conflict in `show-dir-content.php`. Did you make a change in this file which can conflict/overlap with the changes in the following commits? Try to [resolve](http://stackoverflow.com/a/163659/313516) it. – Marcin Zajączkowski Jan 19 '14 at 01:28
Yes, i made changes in the file, my task IS to make changes to both files I previously committed. I'll look for a solution in the link you provided. – EmptyClip Jan 19 '14 at 01:31
Modifying both files is not a problem. A problem (difficulty) could be to modify in a rebase of the first file a line which is already modified in the second original commit. Then a conflict occurs. It is a logical problem when you have to decide what change should be take into consideration. Git (and other SCM tools) provides the ways to handle it. – Marcin Zajączkowski Jan 19 '14 at 01:52

score 1 · Answer 2 · edited May 02 '14 at 10:15

(Posted solution on behalf of OP).

I got the right way to do it:

git rebase -i --root (I wasn't able to find both commits using HEAD~2)
pick->edit for both commits
Ctrl+X and Y and ENTER
edit the first commit
git add file1.php
git commit --amend
git rebase --continue
edit the second commit
git add file2.php
git commit --amend
git rebase --continue
git push -f

Hope this helps at least one person starting their git experience. Szpak, you've been a big help. Thanks.

editing commits with git rebase

2 Answers2

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