What's the difference between 'ours' and 'theirs'?

During a merge: 'ours' is the branch you're merging INTO (current branch), 'theirs' is the branch being merged. During a rebase these swap — 'ours' becomes the branch being rebased onto.

How do I abort a merge mid-conflict?

Run 'git merge --abort' to restore the pre-merge state. For rebase, use 'git rebase --abort'. Both commands clean up staged conflict markers.

Can I configure my own merge tool?

Yes — set git config merge.tool vimdiff (or meld, kdiff3, etc.). The simulator shows the equivalent three-panel view that external merge tools use.

Git Conflict Resolver | DevTools Surf

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Example: Git Conflict Resolver

A worked example, rendered from real sample data. Sign in to run the tool on your own input.

Input

src/auth.ts
ours

Output

{
  "file": "src/auth.ts",
  "conflictMarkers": 3,
  "strategy": "Keep our changes",
  "steps": [
    {
      "step": 1,
      "action": "Identify conflict markers (<<<<<<, ======, >>>>>>)",
      "status": "Automatic"
    },
    {
      "step": 2,
      "action": "Resolve using ours strategy",
      "status": "Ready"
    },
    {
      "step": 3,
      "action": "Remove conflict markers",
      "status": "Automatic"
    },
    {
      "step": 4,
      "action": "Run tests to verify resolution",
      "status": "Recommended"
    }
  ],
  "resolved": {
    "content": "// Resolved using ours strategy\nfunction merged() {\n  // Content from ours branch\n  return true;\n}"
  },
  "nextSteps": [
    "git add src/auth.ts",
    "git commit -m 'Resolve merge conflict'",
    "git push origin"
  ]
}

About Git Conflict Resolver

Git Conflict Resolver preview - Developer Utilities tool

Simulate and guide through git merge conflict resolution strategies. Part of the DevTools Surf developer suite. Browse more tools in the Developer Utilities collection.

Use Cases

Practice conflict resolution strategies on synthetic conflicts before encountering them in a real codebase.
Understand the difference between 'ours/theirs' semantics during merge vs. rebase operations.
Learn how to resolve structural conflicts where both sides deleted and replaced the same block.
Train team members on conflict resolution without risking data loss on production branches.

Tips

Read both sides of the conflict before choosing — the 'ours' and 'theirs' labels can be counterintuitive during a rebase (they swap meanings).
Use a 3-way diff view to see the common ancestor alongside both conflicting versions, which makes the right resolution clearer.
After resolving, stage only the resolved files with 'git add <file>' — don't 'git add .' to avoid accidentally staging unresolved conflicts.

Fun Facts

Git conflict markers (<<<<<<< ======= >>>>>>>) were adopted from the diff3 utility, which dates to the early 1990s and was designed for merging text files — not source code.
The most common source of merge conflicts is concurrent edits to the same function signature — renaming a parameter in one branch while adding logic that uses the old name in another.
GitHub reports that the average pull request on public repos takes 4.5 days to merge. Repos with automated conflict detection (CI checks) reduce this to 2.8 days on average.

FAQ

What's the difference between 'ours' and 'theirs'?: During a merge: 'ours' is the branch you're merging INTO (current branch), 'theirs' is the branch being merged. During a rebase these swap — 'ours' becomes the branch being rebased onto.
How do I abort a merge mid-conflict?: Run 'git merge --abort' to restore the pre-merge state. For rebase, use 'git rebase --abort'. Both commands clean up staged conflict markers.
Can I configure my own merge tool?: Yes — set git config merge.tool vimdiff (or meld, kdiff3, etc.). The simulator shows the equivalent three-panel view that external merge tools use.

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