{
    "mode": "man",
    "parameter": "git-merge-file",
    "section": "1",
    "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/git-merge-file/1/json",
    "generated": "2026-10-20T08:52:19Z",
    "synopsis": "git merge-file [-L <current-name> [-L <base-name> [-L <other-name>]]]\n[--ours|--theirs|--union] [-p|--stdout] [-q|--quiet] [--marker-size=<n>]\n[--[no-]diff3] [--object-id] <current> <base> <other>",
    "sections": {
        "NAME": {
            "content": "git-merge-file - Run a three-way file merge\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "SYNOPSIS": {
            "content": "git merge-file [-L <current-name> [-L <base-name> [-L <other-name>]]]\n[--ours|--theirs|--union] [-p|--stdout] [-q|--quiet] [--marker-size=<n>]\n[--[no-]diff3] [--object-id] <current> <base> <other>\n\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "DESCRIPTION": {
            "content": "Given three files <current>, <base> and <other>, git merge-file incorporates all changes that\nlead from <base> to <other> into <current>. The result ordinarily goes into <current>. git\nmerge-file is useful for combining separate changes to an original. Suppose <base> is the\noriginal, and both <current> and <other> are modifications of <base>, then git merge-file\ncombines both changes.\n\nA conflict occurs if both <current> and <other> have changes in a common segment of lines. If\na conflict is found, git merge-file normally outputs a warning and brackets the conflict with\nlines containing <<<<<<< and >>>>>>> markers. A typical conflict will look like this:\n\n<<<<<<< A\nlines in file A\n=======\nlines in file B\n>>>>>>> B\n\nIf there are conflicts, the user should edit the result and delete one of the alternatives.\nWhen --ours, --theirs, or --union option is in effect, however, these conflicts are resolved\nfavouring lines from <current>, lines from <other>, or lines from both respectively. The\nlength of the conflict markers can be given with the --marker-size option.\n\nIf --object-id is specified, exactly the same behavior occurs, except that instead of\nspecifying what to merge as files, it is specified as a list of object IDs referring to\nblobs.\n\nThe exit value of this program is negative on error, and the number of conflicts otherwise\n(truncated to 127 if there are more than that many conflicts). If the merge was clean, the\nexit value is 0.\n\ngit merge-file is designed to be a minimal clone of RCS merge; that is, it implements all of\nRCS merge's functionality which is needed by git(1).\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "OPTIONS": {
            "content": "",
            "subsections": [
                {
                    "name": "--object-id",
                    "content": "Specify the contents to merge as blobs in the current repository instead of files. In\nthis case, the operation must take place within a valid repository.\n\nIf the -p option is specified, the merged file (including conflicts, if any) goes to\nstandard output as normal; otherwise, the merged file is written to the object store and\nthe object ID of its blob is written to standard output.\n",
                    "long": "--object-id"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-L <label>",
                    "content": "This option may be given up to three times, and specifies labels to be used in place of\nthe corresponding file names in conflict reports. That is, git merge-file -L x -L y -L z\na b c generates output that looks like it came from files x, y and z instead of from\nfiles a, b and c.\n",
                    "flag": "-L",
                    "arg": "<label>"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-p",
                    "content": "Send results to standard output instead of overwriting <current>.\n",
                    "flag": "-p"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-q",
                    "content": "Quiet; do not warn about conflicts.\n",
                    "flag": "-q"
                },
                {
                    "name": "--diff3",
                    "content": "Show conflicts in \"diff3\" style.\n",
                    "long": "--diff3"
                },
                {
                    "name": "--zdiff3",
                    "content": "Show conflicts in \"zdiff3\" style.\n",
                    "long": "--zdiff3"
                },
                {
                    "name": "--ours, --theirs, --union",
                    "content": "Instead of leaving conflicts in the file, resolve conflicts favouring our (or their or\nboth) side of the lines.\n",
                    "long": "--union"
                }
            ]
        },
        "EXAMPLES": {
            "content": "",
            "subsections": [
                {
                    "name": "git merge-file README.my README README.upstream",
                    "content": "combines the changes of README.my and README.upstream since README, tries to merge them\nand writes the result into README.my.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "git merge-file -L a -L b -L c tmp/a123 tmp/b234 tmp/c345",
                    "content": "merges tmp/a123 and tmp/c345 with the base tmp/b234, but uses labels a and c instead of\ntmp/a123 and tmp/c345.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "git merge-file -p --object-id abc1234 def567 890abcd",
                    "content": "combines the changes of the blob abc1234 and 890abcd since def567, tries to merge them\nand writes the result to standard output\n"
                }
            ]
        },
        "GIT": {
            "content": "Part of the git(1) suite\n\nGit 2.43.0                                   07/02/2025                            GIT-MERGE-FILE(1)",
            "subsections": []
        }
    },
    "summary": "git-merge-file - Run a three-way file merge",
    "flags": [
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": "--object-id",
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Specify the contents to merge as blobs in the current repository instead of files. In this case, the operation must take place within a valid repository. If the -p option is specified, the merged file (including conflicts, if any) goes to standard output as normal; otherwise, the merged file is written to the object store and the object ID of its blob is written to standard output."
        },
        {
            "flag": "-L",
            "long": null,
            "arg": "<label>",
            "description": "This option may be given up to three times, and specifies labels to be used in place of the corresponding file names in conflict reports. That is, git merge-file -L x -L y -L z a b c generates output that looks like it came from files x, y and z instead of from files a, b and c."
        },
        {
            "flag": "-p",
            "long": null,
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Send results to standard output instead of overwriting <current>."
        },
        {
            "flag": "-q",
            "long": null,
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Quiet; do not warn about conflicts."
        },
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": "--diff3",
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Show conflicts in \"diff3\" style."
        },
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": "--zdiff3",
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Show conflicts in \"zdiff3\" style."
        },
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": "--union",
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Instead of leaving conflicts in the file, resolve conflicts favouring our (or their or both) side of the lines."
        }
    ],
    "examples": [
        "combines the changes of README.my and README.upstream since README, tries to merge them",
        "and writes the result into README.my.",
        "merges tmp/a123 and tmp/c345 with the base tmp/b234, but uses labels a and c instead of",
        "tmp/a123 and tmp/c345.",
        "combines the changes of the blob abc1234 and 890abcd since def567, tries to merge them",
        "and writes the result to standard output"
    ],
    "see_also": []
}