QA
Beginner LevelGit & GitHub

What is a Fast-Forward Merge in Git?

❓ Interview Prompt: Explain Fast-Forward merges vs non-fast-forward merges (--no-ff) and preserving explicit merge commit nodes.

A Fast-Forward Merge occurs when merging a feature branch into a target branch where the target branch has received no intermediate commits. Git simply advances the target branch pointer forward. Running git merge --no-ff forces an explicit merge commit.

Code Implementation Example

bash
git merge feature/login
git merge --no-ff feature/login -m "merge: integrate feature/login"
💡Executing default fast-forward merge vs forced explicit merge commit.
🎯 Interview Key Takeaway

Fast-forward merges move branch pointers without merge commits. Use --no-ff to force explicit merge commit history.

#Fast-Forward#git merge#Beginner
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