Combining Multiple Git Commits Into One

I previously wrote about including small contributions in my projects. That being said, it often becomes necessary to combine multiple git commits into one.

Let’s assume our multiples commits are located in the features branch:

git checkout features

To combine our commits, we will use the following structure:

git rebase -i features

A command similar to the following will be retrieved:

pick 3ksk4f0 My first commit
pick d01jb3f My second commit
pick gf0b3b0 My third commit 

# Rebase 9frt191..gf0b3b0 onto 9frt191
#
# Commands:
#  p, pick = use commit
#  r, reword = use commit, but edit the commit message
#  e, edit = use commit, but stop for amending
#  s, squash = use commit, but meld into previous commit
#  f, fixup = like "squash", but discard this commit's log message
#  x, exec = run command (the rest of the line) using shell
#
# If you remove a line here THAT COMMIT WILL BE LOST.
# However, if you remove everything, the rebase will be aborted.
#

We then pick the first commit and squash subsequent commits:

pick 3ksk4f0 My first commit
squash d01jb3f My second commit
squash gf0b3b0 My third commit 

# Rebase 9frt191..gf0b3b0 onto 9frt191
#
# Commands:
#  p, pick = use commit
#  r, reword = use commit, but edit the commit message
#  e, edit = use commit, but stop for amending
#  s, squash = use commit, but meld into previous commit
#  f, fixup = like "squash", but discard this commit's log message
#  x, exec = run command (the rest of the line) using shell
#
# If you remove a line here THAT COMMIT WILL BE LOST.
# However, if you remove everything, the rebase will be aborted.
#

Save and close the editor. Following, another file will be retrieved, allowing you to modify the new commit’s message:

# This is a combination of 4 commits.
# The first commit's message is:
First commit

# This is the 2nd commit message:

Second commit

# This is the 3rd commit message:

Third commit


# Please enter the commit message for your changes. Lines starting
# with '#' will be ignored, and an empty message aborts the commit.
# Explicit paths specified without -i nor -o; assuming --only paths...
# Not currently on any branch.
# Changes to be committed:
#   (use "git reset HEAD <file>..." to unstage)
#
#	new file:   LICENSE
#	modified:   README.textile
#	modified:   Rakefile
#	modified:   bin/jekyll

After making desired changes, save the file and close the editor. Once you’re done, your new squashed commit will be displayed.