# git-merge-file

## NAME



           git-merge-file - Run a three-way file merge
    


## SYNOPSIS



           _git merge-file_ [-L <current-name> [-L <base-name> [-L <other-name>]]]
                   [--ours|--theirs|--union] [-p|--stdout] [-q|--quiet] [--marker-size=<n>]
                   [--[no-]diff3] [--object-id] <current> <base> <other>
    


## DESCRIPTION



           Given three files _< current>_, _< base>_ and _< other>_, _git merge-file_
           incorporates all changes that lead from _< base>_ to _< other>_ into
           _< current>_. The result ordinarily goes into _< current>_. _git_
           _merge-file_ is useful for combining separate changes to an
           original. Suppose _< base>_ is the original, and both _< current>_ and
           _< other>_ are modifications of _< base>_, then _git merge-file_ combines
           both changes.
    
           A conflict occurs if both _< current>_ and _< other>_ have changes in a
           common segment of lines. If a conflict is found, _git merge-file_
           normally outputs a warning and brackets the conflict with lines
           containing <<<<<<< and >>>>>>> markers. A typical conflict will
           look like this:
    
               <<<<<<< A
               lines in file A
               =======
               lines in file B
               >>>>>>> B
    
           If there are conflicts, the user should edit the result and delete
           one of the alternatives. When **--ours** , **--theirs** , or **--union** option
           is in effect, however, these conflicts are resolved favouring
           lines from _< current>_, lines from _< other>_, or lines from both
           respectively. The length of the conflict markers can be given with
           the **--marker-size** option.
    
           If **--object-id** is specified, exactly the same behavior occurs,
           except that instead of specifying what to merge as files, it is
           specified as a list of object IDs referring to blobs.
    
           The exit value of this program is negative on error, and the
           number of conflicts otherwise (truncated to 127 if there are more
           than that many conflicts). If the merge was clean, the exit value
           is 0.
    
           _git merge-file_ is designed to be a minimal clone of RCS _merge_ ;
           that is, it implements all of RCS _merge_ 's functionality which is
           needed by git(1).
    


## OPTIONS



           --object-id
               Specify the contents to merge as blobs in the current
               repository instead of files. In this case, the operation must
               take place within a valid repository.
    
               If the **-p** option is specified, the merged file (including
               conflicts, if any) goes to standard output as normal;
               otherwise, the merged file is written to the object store and
               the object ID of its blob is written to standard output.
    
           -L <label>
               This option may be given up to three times, and specifies
               labels to be used in place of the corresponding file names in
               conflict reports. That is, **git merge-file -L x -L y -L z a b c**
               generates output that looks like it came from files x, y and z
               instead of from files a, b and c.
    
           -p
               Send results to standard output instead of overwriting
               _< current>_.
    
           -q
               Quiet; do not warn about conflicts.
    
           --diff3
               Show conflicts in "diff3" style.
    
           --zdiff3
               Show conflicts in "zdiff3" style.
    
           --ours, --theirs, --union
               Instead of leaving conflicts in the file, resolve conflicts
               favouring our (or their or both) side of the lines.
    
           --diff-algorithm={patience|minimal|histogram|myers}
               Use a different diff algorithm while merging. The current
               default is "myers", but selecting more recent algorithm such
               as "histogram" can help avoid mismerges that occur due to
               unimportant matching lines (such as braces from distinct
               functions). See also git-diff(1) **--diff-algorithm**.
    


## EXAMPLES



           **git merge-file README.my README README.upstream**
               combines the changes of README.my and README.upstream since
               README, tries to merge them and writes the result into
               README.my.
    
           **git merge-file -L a -L b -L c tmp/a123 tmp/b234 tmp/c345**
               merges tmp/a123 and tmp/c345 with the base tmp/b234, but uses
               labels **a** and **c** instead of **tmp/a123** and **tmp/c345**.
    
           **git merge-file -p --object-id abc1234 def567 890abcd**
               combines the changes of the blob abc1234 and 890abcd since
               def567, tries to merge them and writes the result to standard
               output
    


## GIT



           Part of the git(1) suite
    


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