Git Pull: Merge vs. Rebase - Which to Choose?

The difference between 'merge' and 'rebase' pulls in Git lies in how they handle conflicts.

When using a 'merge' pull, if conflicts exist between two branches, Git automatically attempts to merge them, creating a new commit. This commit incorporates all changes from both branches, along with the resolved conflicts.

In contrast, a 'rebase' pull involves stashing the current branch's changes, then rebasing it on top of the target branch, resulting in a new commit. This new commit contains all the target branch's modifications and the current branch's changes. If conflicts arise, Git prompts you to manually resolve them. This method produces a cleaner commit history but requires manual conflict resolution.