Git Rebase & Squash (Non-Interactive)

Clean up git commit history by squashing and reorganizing commits using a file-based rebase workflow.

Critical Constraints

DO NOT use git rebase -i directly—it requires interactive terminal input and will hang or fail in automated environments.

ALWAYS use GIT_SEQUENCE_EDITOR with a pre-written rebase plan file.

Workflow

1. Commit All Changes First

If there are unstaged changes that are part of the cleanup:

# Commit them first - DO NOT stash
git add <files>
git commit -m "Description of changes"

Why: Stashing complicates the rebase process. Committing allows you to include these changes in the rebase plan.

2. Identify Commits to Rebase

# Fetch latest remote state
git fetch origin

# Find the fork point — the commit where your branch diverged from origin/main
BASE=$(git merge-base origin/main HEAD)

# View all commits on your branch since the fork point, with size info
git log --oneline $BASE..HEAD

Before proceeding, sanity-check the commit list. Confirm with the user if any of the following apply:

• The branch is more than ~20 commits ahead of origin/main and no base was specified
• The commits look unrelated to what the user described (e.g. a mix of entirely different features), suggesting the wrong base was found
• Any commit in the list is a merge commit (Merge branch ...) — rebasing over a merge commit will likely produce unexpected results

When confirming, phrase it as a single question covering whichever flags triggered: "Before I proceed — this branch is N commits ahead of origin/main [and/or includes a merge commit / includes unrelated commits]. Is origin/main the right base, or should I use a different one?"

git log $BASE..HEAD --format="%h %s" | while read hash msg; do
  stats=$(git diff-tree --no-commit-id -r --stat $hash | tail -1)
  echo "$hash | $stats | $msg"
done

This gives you a per-commit breakdown of files changed and lines added/removed — essential for deciding how to group commits.

3. Present Squash Options

Before running the rebase, present the user with 2–3 breakdown options at different commit counts (e.g. into 3, 4, 5 commits). For each option show:

• The proposed commit groups with their combined size (files / LOC)
• A recommended option with a brief rationale (e.g. "4 commits keeps CI/CD infra separate from engine changes")

Example presentation format:

**Option A — 3 commits** ⭐ recommended
  1. Add CI/CD pipeline and deploy infrastructure  (12 files, +450/-80)
  2. Add OTEL telemetry and fix git identity       (4 files, +45/-12)
  3. Add HTTPRoute and HealthCheckPolicy           (4 files, +57/-3)

**Option B — 4 commits**
  1. Fix Helm chart security contexts              (3 files, +18/-6)
  2. Add CI/CD pipeline and deploy scripts         (9 files, +432/-74)
  3. Add OTEL telemetry and fix git identity       (4 files, +45/-12)
  4. Add HTTPRoute and HealthCheckPolicy           (4 files, +57/-3)

**Option C — 5 commits**
  1. Fix Helm chart security contexts              (3 files, +18/-6)
  2. Add CI/CD pipeline and deploy scripts         (9 files, +432/-74)
  3. Add OTEL telemetry config                     (3 files, +39/-8)
  4. Fix git identity in push_branch               (1 file,  +6/-4)
  5. Add HTTPRoute and HealthCheckPolicy           (4 files, +57/-3)

Wait for user to confirm before proceeding.

4. Create Rebase Plan File

Create a file with the rebase instructions:

cat << 'EOF' > /tmp/git-rebase-todo
pick <commit-hash-1> <commit message>
fixup <commit-hash-2> <commit message>  # squash into previous, discard message
fixup <commit-hash-3> <commit message>  # squash into previous, discard message
pick <commit-hash-4> <commit message>
squash <commit-hash-5> <commit message> # squash into previous, keep message
EOF

Key Commands:

• pick: Keep this commit as-is
• fixup: Squash into previous commit, discard this commit's message
• squash: Squash into previous commit, keep this commit's message for editing
• reword: Keep commit but change the message
• edit: Stop at this commit to make changes
• drop: Remove this commit entirely

Order: Commits are listed from oldest to newest (chronological order)

5. Execute Rebase

# Use GIT_SEQUENCE_EDITOR to point to your plan file, rebase onto the fork point
GIT_SEQUENCE_EDITOR='cp /tmp/git-rebase-todo' git rebase -i $BASE

Where $BASE is the merge-base commit found in step 2.

6. Handle Interactive Steps

If you used edit or reword commands:

# For 'edit' - make changes, then:
git add <files>
git commit --amend
git rebase --continue

# For 'reword' - the rebase will stop and wait:
git commit --amend -m "New commit message"
git rebase --continue

7. Verify Result

# Check the new history
git log --oneline origin/main..HEAD

# Diff against the old HEAD — must be empty
git diff <old-HEAD> HEAD --stat

# If the diff is non-empty, the rebase dropped or altered content — abort and investigate

Always diff against the old HEAD before pushing. A non-empty diff means commits were dropped or conflicts were resolved incorrectly.

8. Force Push

Since rebase rewrites history:

# Use force-with-lease for safety (fails if remote has new commits)
git push --force-with-lease

# OR regular force push (less safe)
git push --force

Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ DON'T: Use git rebase -i directly

git rebase -i HEAD~5  # Will hang waiting for interactive input

✅ DO: Use GIT_SEQUENCE_EDITOR

BASE=$(git merge-base origin/main HEAD)
cat > /tmp/rebase-plan << 'EOF'
pick abc123
fixup def456
EOF
GIT_SEQUENCE_EDITOR='cp /tmp/rebase-plan' git rebase -i $BASE

---

❌ DON'T: Stash uncommitted changes

git stash
git rebase -i HEAD~5
git stash pop

✅ DO: Commit them first

git add .
git commit -m "WIP changes"
# Now rebase all branch commits including the new one
BASE=$(git merge-base origin/main HEAD)
GIT_SEQUENCE_EDITOR='cp /tmp/rebase-plan' git rebase -i $BASE

---

❌ DON'T: Use git reset --soft without understanding the implications

git reset --soft HEAD~5  # Dangerous - loses commit metadata

✅ DO: Use proper rebase workflow

# Creates clean history while preserving authorship and timestamps
BASE=$(git merge-base origin/main HEAD)
GIT_SEQUENCE_EDITOR='cp /tmp/plan' git rebase -i $BASE

---

❌ DON'T: Forget to verify before pushing

git push --force  # Push without checking

✅ DO: Always verify first

git log --oneline -5  # Check commits
git show HEAD         # Review latest commit
git push --force-with-lease

Example: Squash 6 Commits into 3

Goal: Combine 6 commits into exactly 3 clean commits.

Starting commits (newest to oldest):

f - Fix test-backend changes
e - Fix migration part 4
d - Fix migration part 3
c - Fix migration part 2
b - Fix test-engine changes
a - Fix migration part 1

Desired result:

1. Fix test-engine (commit b)
2. Fix migration (commits a, c, d, e squashed together)
3. Fix test-backend (commit f)

Steps:

1. Find fork point and verify current state:

git fetch origin
BASE=$(git merge-base origin/main HEAD)
git log --oneline $BASE..HEAD
# f - Fix test-backend changes
# e - Fix migration part 4
# d - Fix migration part 3
# c - Fix migration part 2
# b - Fix test-engine changes
# a - Fix migration part 1

2. Create rebase plan (oldest to newest):

cat << 'EOF' > /tmp/git-rebase-todo
pick a Fix migration part 1
fixup c Fix migration part 2
fixup d Fix migration part 3
fixup e Fix migration part 4
pick b Fix test-engine changes
pick f Fix test-backend changes
EOF

Note: Commits must be in chronological order (oldest first)!

3. Execute rebase:

GIT_SEQUENCE_EDITOR='cp /tmp/git-rebase-todo' git rebase -i $BASE

4. Reword commit messages (optional, second rebase pass):

NEW_BASE=$(git merge-base origin/main HEAD)
cat << 'EOF' > /tmp/git-rebase-todo
reword <hash-a> Fix migration part 1
reword <hash-b> Fix test-engine changes
reword <hash-f> Fix test-backend changes
EOF
GIT_SEQUENCE_EDITOR='cp /tmp/git-rebase-todo' git rebase -i $NEW_BASE

# When stopped at each commit:
git commit --amend -m "Better commit message with details"
git rebase --continue

5. Verify and push:

git log --oneline -3
git push --force-with-lease

Tips

• Fetch first: Always run git fetch origin before finding the base — a stale ref will give you the wrong merge-base
• Your rebase plan must list ALL commits between BASE and HEAD: If you omit any, they get silently dropped. Use git log $BASE..HEAD to confirm the full list before writing the plan
• Check order: Rebase plans list commits oldest-to-newest (opposite of git log)
• Use fixup: Prefer fixup over squash to avoid accumulating commit messages; use reword on the lead commit if you want a better message
• Present options first: Show 2–3 breakdown options with sizes before running anything — let the user choose
• Diff before push: Always run git diff <old-HEAD> HEAD --stat after rebasing and before force pushing — empty diff = safe
• --force-with-lease: Safer than --force — fails if the remote has moved on since your last fetch

When Things Go Wrong

Rebase conflict:

# See what's conflicting
git status

# Fix conflicts in files, then:
git add <resolved-files>
git rebase --continue

# OR abandon the rebase:
git rebase --abort

Wrong commits squashed:

# Abort and start over
git rebase --abort

# OR if already pushed, force push the old state:
git reflog  # Find the commit before rebase
git reset --hard <commit-hash>
git push --force-with-lease

Rebase stuck/hanging:

# Don't use interactive commands in the shell
# Always use GIT_SEQUENCE_EDITOR approach shown above