rebase-safely

name	rebase-safely
description	Rebase, squash, or rewrite history without losing work or breaking shared branches. Use before any history rewrite.
when_to_use	rebase, squash, "update my branch", interactive rebase, force-push
targets	["*"]

Rebase Safely

1. Backup first - git branch backup/<name> before any rewrite. Free undo.
2. Rebase onto the latest base: git fetch; git rebase origin/main.
3. Resolve conflicts one commit at a time. Test after the rebase, not just that it "completed".
4. Never rewrite shared history - if others pulled the branch, rebasing it forces them into pain. Rewrite only your own un-pushed/un-shared commits.
5. Push with --force-with-lease, never bare --force (lease refuses if someone else pushed). If anything goes sideways: git reflog finds the pre-rebase state; git reset --hard backup/<name> restores it.