"Master Git Branching, Merging & Conflict Resolution

🧠 What I Learned

Concept	Skill Gained
`git branch`	Create and manage branches
`git checkout -b`	Create and switch to a new branch
`git merge`	Merge one branch into another
Merge Conflicts	Identify and resolve conflicts manually
`git log --oneline --graph`	Visualize branch history

✅ Commands I Practiced

🔀 1. Create a new Git repository

mkdir git-practice-lab
cd git-practice-lab
git init

🌿 2. Create a new branch

git branch feature-a

Check all branches:

git branch

🚀 3. Switch to a branch

git checkout feature-a

Or create and switch:

git checkout -b feature-b

📝 4. Make some changes

echo "This is feature A" > file.txt
git add .
git commit -m "Add feature A content"

Switch back to main and make a conflicting change:

git checkout main
echo "This is MAIN version" > file.txt
git commit -am "Update from main"

🔀 5. Merge and resolve conflicts

git merge feature-a

🛑 Conflict message appears if both branches modified the same part of the file.

Resolve it manually:

Open the file
Edit to keep the correct version
Save and run:

git add file.txt
git commit -m "Resolve conflict between main and feature-a"

🧪 Bonus: Visualize Branch History

git log --oneline --graph --all

Shows a visual tree of your branches and commits.

🛠️ Summary of Key Commands

Command	Use Case
`git branch`	List or create branches
`git checkout branch_name`	Switch to branch
`git checkout -b new_branch`	Create + switch
`git merge branch_name`	Merge into current branch
`git status`	Check working tree
`git log --oneline --graph`	Visualize history
`git diff`	See changes
`git add` and `git commit`	Save changes

⚔️ What I Learned from Conflicts

Merge conflicts happen when:

Two branches modify the same lines of a file
Git cannot automatically resolve the difference

🧠 I learned to:

Read conflict markers (<<<<<<<, =======, >>>>>>>)
Edit files manually
Add and commit after resolving

📌 Reflections

“Branching and merging are not optional — they are essential for working in teams. Conflict resolution is an art that becomes easier with practice.”

# 🚀 Day 7 of 100 Days of DevOps – Git Branching, Merging & Conflict Resolution