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Merge Commits

A merge commit is the result of merging two branches together.

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Let's say we start with this:

A - B - C    main
   \
    D - E    feature_1

And we merge feature_1 into main by running this while on main:

git switch main
git merge feature_1

The merge will:

Find the "merge base" commit, or "best common ancestor" of the two branches. In this case, A.
Replay the changes from main, starting from the best common ancestor, into a new commit.
Replay the changes from feature_1 onto main, starting from the best common ancestor.
Records the result as a new commit, in our case, F.
F is special because it has two parents, C and E.

After:

A - B - C - F    main
   \     /
     D - E        feature_1

Happy path: keep main checked out. If you want to make the branches diverge more first, add one commit on main and one on feature_1, then use Merge while still on main to create a two-parent merge commit.

Assignment

Your current webflyx commit history should look like this:

A - B - C - E    main
         \
           D     add_classics

Merge the changes from the add_classics branch into the main branch. You will be presented with a code editor to change the commit message. Update the message to start with F:. Aside from that, use the default message. E.g. F: Merge branch 'add_classics'.
Save the file, and close the editor. See the tips below if you don't know how to exit the editor.
From the main branch run git log --oneline --graph --parents. This should give you a nice visual representation of the merge commit.

Run and submit the CLI tests while still on main.

Tips

Remember, if you mess up a commit message, you can change it with the --amend flag. For example:

git commit --amend -m "F: Merge branch 'add_classics'"

If you prefer a GUI editor over Vim, you can set one as your default:

# Zed
git config --global core.editor "zed --wait"

# VS Code
git config --global core.editor "code --wait"

To save and exit the editor:

Vim: Press I to enter Insert Mode, then type. To save, press Esc, type :wq, and hit Enter.
Nano: Type immediately. To save, press Ctrl+X, then Y, and Enter.
Zed / VS Code: Type, save (Ctrl+S), and close the window to finish.