Interactive Rebase

Interactive rebase is a powerful tool for rewriting commit history. You can squash, reorder, edit, and even delete commits before sharing your work.

What is Interactive Rebase?

Interactive rebase (git rebase -i) lets you modify commits:

• Squash: Combine multiple commits into one
• Reword: Change commit messages
• Edit: Modify commit content
• Reorder: Change commit order
• Drop: Remove commits entirely
• Fixup: Squash without keeping the message

Starting Interactive Rebase

# Rebase last 3 commits
git rebase -i HEAD~3

# Rebase from specific commit (not including it)
git rebase -i abc123

# Rebase onto main
git rebase -i main

The Interactive Editor

When you run git rebase -i HEAD~3, an editor opens:

pick abc1234 Add user model
pick def5678 Add user validation
pick 789abcd Fix typo in user model

# Rebase 123abc4..789abcd onto 123abc4 (3 commands)
#
# Commands:
# p, pick = use commit
# r, reword = use commit, but edit the commit message
# e, edit = use commit, but stop for amending
# s, squash = use commit, but meld into previous commit
# f, fixup = like "squash", but discard this commit's log message
# x, exec = run command (the rest of the line) using shell
# d, drop = remove commit
#
# These lines can be re-ordered; they are executed from top to bottom.
#
# If you remove a line here THAT COMMIT WILL BE LOST.

Squashing Commits

Combine multiple commits into one:

Before

pick abc1234 Add user model
pick def5678 Add user validation
pick 789abcd Fix typo in user model

After (combine all into first)

pick abc1234 Add user model
squash def5678 Add user validation
squash 789abcd Fix typo in user model

Save and close. You'll get a new editor to write the combined message:

# This is a combination of 3 commits.
# This is the 1st commit message:

Add user model

# This is the commit message #2:

Add user validation

# This is the commit message #3:

Fix typo in user model

# Please enter the commit message for your changes.

Edit to:

Add user model with validation

- Created User class
- Added email validation
- Added password validation

Using Fixup

Like squash but discards the commit message:

pick abc1234 Add user model
fixup def5678 fix typo
fixup 789abcd another fix

The result has only "Add user model" message.

Creating Fixup Commits

# Make fix for an earlier commit
git commit --fixup=abc1234

# Later, autosquash them
git rebase -i --autosquash main

Git automatically marks fixup commits with fixup.

Rewording Messages

Change commit messages without changing content:

pick abc1234 Add user model
reword def5678 validation
pick 789abcd typo fix

When you save, Git stops to let you rewrite "validation" message.

Editing Commits

Stop and modify a commit:

pick abc1234 Add user model
edit def5678 Add validation
pick 789abcd Add tests

Git stops at def5678. You can:

# Make changes
# ...

# Amend the commit
git add .
git commit --amend

# Continue rebase
git rebase --continue

Reordering Commits

Simply change the order:

Before

pick abc1234 Third feature
pick def5678 First feature
pick 789abcd Second feature

After

pick def5678 First feature
pick 789abcd Second feature
pick abc1234 Third feature

Dropping Commits

Remove a commit entirely:

pick abc1234 Add feature
drop def5678 Debug code (remove this)
pick 789abcd Add tests

Or just delete the line.

Common Workflows

Clean Up Before PR

# See your commits
git log --oneline main..HEAD

# Interactive rebase
git rebase -i main

# Squash related commits
# Reword unclear messages
# Drop debug/WIP commits

# Force push
git push --force-with-lease

Combine WIP Commits

Before:
WIP: start feature
WIP: more work
WIP: almost done
Fix bug
Add tests

After:
Add new feature with tests

Split a Commit

Use edit to stop at a commit, then:

# Reset the commit (keep changes)
git reset HEAD~1

# Create multiple commits
git add part1.js
git commit -m "Add part 1"

git add part2.js
git commit -m "Add part 2"

# Continue
git rebase --continue

Handling Conflicts

During interactive rebase, you might hit conflicts:

# Fix conflicts
git add conflicted-file.js

# Continue
git rebase --continue

# Or abort everything
git rebase --abort

Safety Tips

Create Backup Branch

git branch backup-before-rebase
git rebase -i HEAD~5
# If something goes wrong:
git checkout backup-before-rebase

Use Reflog

If you mess up:

# Find where you were before
git reflog

# Reset to that point
git reset --hard HEAD@{5}

Never Rebase Pushed Commits

Unless it's your personal branch and you'll force push.

Autosquash Feature

For automatic squashing:

# Create commit that should be squashed into abc123
git commit --fixup abc123

# Create commit with message to squash
git commit --squash abc123

# Rebase with autosquash
git rebase -i --autosquash main

Git automatically orders and marks fixup/squash commits.

Configure as default:

git config --global rebase.autosquash true

Summary

• Interactive rebase rewrites commit history
• Use git rebase -i HEAD~n to start
• pick: Keep commit as-is
• squash/fixup: Combine with previous
• reword: Change message
• edit: Stop to modify
• drop: Remove commit
• Clean up before sharing (PRs)
• Never rebase shared/public history
• Use --autosquash for fixup commits

In the next lesson, we'll learn about cherry-picking commits.