How to Sync a Local Git Branch That Is Ahead of Remote Without Losing Changes
I noticed that my local branch was ahead of origin/main by 2 commits,
but I also needed to pull the latest changes from the remote repository. Running git status showed this:
On branch main
Your branch is ahead of 'origin/main' by 2 commits.
(use "git push" to publish your local commits)
Changes not staged for commit:
(use "git add <file>..." to update what will be committed)
(use "git restore <file>..." to discard changes in working directory)
modified: package.json
modified: src/app/payment/page.tsx
modified: src/components/PaystackPayment.tsx
modified: ../../pnpm-lock.yaml
no changes added to commit (use "git add" and/or "git commit -a")
I didn’t want to lose my local changes, but I also needed the latest updates from the remote repository. Simply running git pull might cause conflicts,
so I had to find a safe way to merge everything properly.
How I Fixed It
Here’s exactly what I did to keep my local changes while also pulling the latest updates from the remote branch:
Step 1: Stash Local Changes (Optional but Recommended)
Since I had unstaged changes, I needed to temporarily save them using git stash:
git stash
After running this, I got the following message:
Saved working directory and index state WIP on main: [commit-hash] Message
At this point, my working directory was clean, and I was ready to pull the latest changes safely.
Step 2: Pull the Latest Changes With Rebase
Instead of a normal git pull, I used the --rebase flag to apply my local changes on top of the latest remote changes:
git pull origin main --rebase
This resulted in merge conflicts because Git couldn’t automatically apply my changes:
Auto-merging apps/cv-resume-builder/src/app/(create)/layout.tsx
CONFLICT (content): Merge conflict in apps/cv-resume-builder/src/app/(create)/layout.tsx
Auto-merging apps/cv-resume-builder/src/app/(main)/layout.tsx
CONFLICT (content): Merge conflict in apps/cv-resume-builder/src/app/(main)/layout.tsx
Auto-merging apps/cv-resume-builder/src/app/(main)/page.tsx
CONFLICT (content): Merge conflict in apps/cv-resume-builder/src/app/(main)/page.tsx
error: could not apply [commit-hash]... added ramadan bonus banner
Step 3: Manually Resolve Merge Conflicts
I opened each conflicting file in my code editor (e.g., VS Code) and manually accepted the correct changes. The conflicts were marked like this:
<<<<<<< HEAD
// Local changes
const Banner = () => <h1>My Local Version</h1>;
=======
const Banner = () => <h1>Updated Remote Version</h1>;
>>>>>>> origin/main
I chose the best version, often combining both like this:
const Banner = () => <h1>My Local Version + Updated Remote Version</h1>;
After resolving all conflicts, I staged the files:
git add .
Then I continued the rebase process:
git rebase --continue
This completed the rebase successfully.
Step 4: Apply Stashed Changes (If Any)
Since I had stashed my changes earlier, I restored them with:
git stash pop
I checked git status to confirm everything was fine:
On branch main
Your branch is ahead of 'origin/main' by 2 commits.
nothing to commit, working tree clean
Step 5: Push Changes to Remote
Finally, I pushed my updated branch to GitHub:
git push origin main
Now, my local branch was fully in sync with the remote branch, and none of my changes were lost. 🚀
FAQ
1. What if I get “fatal: No rebase in progress”?
That means Git has already completed the rebase. Run git status to check if everything is clean.
If you still have changes, try git rebase --continue.
2. What if I accidentally aborted the rebase?
You can try git reflog to find your last working commit and reset your branch:
git reset --hard [commit-hash]
3. How can I avoid merge conflicts in the future?
To minimize conflicts, always pull with rebase before making local changes:
git pull --rebase
Now, you know how to safely sync your local Git branch with the remote without losing your changes! 🚀
