Dazzling_Touch_9699 seeks advice on efficiently resolving over 100 merge conflicts by keeping incoming branch changes using Visual Studio.

Overview

The community post by Dazzling_Touch_9699 addresses the challenge of merging branches when over 100 files have conflicts on the same lines. The author specifically wants to keep the incoming branch’s changes and discard the current branch’s version, streamlining a tedious manual process.

Problem Statement

During a code merge using Visual Studio, the author encounters a large number of merge conflicts (100+ files), all requiring the same resolution—accepting the incoming branch’s changes. Manually resolving each conflict one by one is impractical and time-consuming.

Solution Sought

The author asks if there is a way to:

  • Automatically resolve all conflicts by keeping the incoming branch’s version for every file.
  • Achieve this through a single command or automated approach, ideally within Visual Studio, but is also open to alternative solutions.

Common Approaches in Git

Though not detailed in the post, typical solutions in the Git ecosystem include:

  • Using the git command-line:
    • git merge --strategy-option theirs (the theirs option, but only works with certain strategies)
    • For each conflicted file: git checkout --theirs <file>
    • To accept theirs for all conflicted files: git checkout --theirs .
    • Then complete the merge: git add . followed by a git commit
  • Visual Studio typically requires manual intervention in merge conflicts, but plugins or external scripts can simplify the process.

Key Takeaways

  • This scenario is common in DevOps and source control workflows, especially with large codebases.
  • Automating conflict resolution saves time and reduces human error when the desired outcome is consistent across all files.

Next Steps

  • Explore possible Visual Studio extensions or third-party tools to automate this within the IDE.
  • Consider using git command-line tools for bulk conflict resolution, then returning to Visual Studio for review and commit.
  • Always review the final merged state before committing to avoid unintentional data loss.

Note: No single-click Visual Studio solution was provided in the author’s query, but tools and command-line alternatives exist for similar scenarios.

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