Code Merge Skill

Principles for resolving merge conflicts in a Merge Request (MR).

Core Rule

Functional conflicts require human decision. Non-functional conflicts may be resolved autonomously.

A conflict is functional when the two sides represent different intended behavior, logic, or feature outcomes — resolving it wrong changes what the product does. A conflict is non-functional when both sides are semantically equivalent and only differ in form (formatting, import ordering, whitespace, comment wording, mechanical renames, auto-generated files, changelog/lockfile ordering).

Merge Workflow

1. Survey the Conflict

Run git status and inspect each conflicted file (git diff, conflict markers <<<<<<<, =======, >>>>>>>). For each conflict, identify:

• Which files and hunks conflict.
• What each side (ours / theirs) is trying to do.
• Whether the conflict is functional or non-functional (per Core Rule).

2. Classify Every Conflict

For each conflict hunk, decide one of:

Do not guess. If you cannot confidently tell whether a conflict changes behavior, treat it as functional and escalate.

3. Autonomous Resolution (Non-functional Only)

When resolving on your own, this often involves code refactoring and file merging, not just picking one side. Follow the intent analysis below.

3.1 Analyze Intent: Keep or Discard

For each piece of conflicting code, determine whether its intent is to be kept or discarded:

• Kept — the code is still needed after the merge.

  • Resolve as: latest version + all still-needed functionality.
  • Take the newer/updated implementation, but make sure no required capability from either side is lost. Merge both sides' contributions rather than blindly overwriting.
  • After merging, verify the result compiles, references resolve, and no dead/duplicate declarations remain.

• Discarded — the code appears intended for removal (deleted on one side, superseded, obsolete).

  • Do NOT discard autonomously. Confirm with the human first, even if it looks non-functional. Report which code you believe should be dropped and why, and wait for confirmation.

3.2 Refactor / File Merge Hygiene

When merging produces combined code:

• Preserve the newer API/signature; adapt older call sites to it.
• Deduplicate imports, helpers, and declarations introduced by both sides.
• Keep formatting consistent with the surrounding file, not with the conflict markers.
• Remove all conflict markers (<<<<<<<, =======, >>>>>>>).

4. Escalate (Functional Conflicts)

For every functional conflict:

• Do not pick a side on your own.
• Report to the human: the file/location, what each side does, and the trade-off.
• Wait for an explicit decision before resolving.

List all functional conflicts together so the human can decide in one pass. Do not resolve some silently and escalate others.

5. Verify Before Completing

After all conflicts are resolved:

• Ensure no conflict markers remain (git grep -n '<<<<<<<\|=======\|>>>>>>>' or equivalent).
• Confirm the code builds / type-checks where applicable.
• Run git status to confirm all conflicts are marked resolved (git add the resolved files).
• Summarize what was resolved autonomously vs. what the human decided.

Notes

• Never git add . blindly — stage only files you have actually reviewed and resolved.
• Do not run git commit, git merge --continue, or git push unless the user explicitly asks.
• When in doubt about functional vs. non-functional, or keep vs. discard, default to asking the human.