How to abort a Git merge or rebase

To cancel a merge in progress, run `git merge --abort`. To cancel a rebase, run git rebase --abort. Both put your branch back exactly where it was before you started. They only work while the operation is stopped. Once a merge is committed there is nothing to abort, and you need git reset or git revert instead.

Which command aborts which operation?

Run git status first. Its first lines name what is in progress, and that tells you which command you need:

How do I abort a merge?

git status
# You have unmerged paths.

git merge --abort
git status
# nothing to commit, working tree clean

This also works after a git pull that stopped on a conflict, because a pull is a fetch followed by a merge. If your pull is set to rebase, use git rebase --abort instead.

How do I abort a rebase?

git rebase --abort

The branch returns to where it was before the rebase started, even if some commits had already been replayed. To stop but keep the commits replayed so far on a detached HEAD, use git rebase --quit, then decide what to keep. If a commit is simply no longer needed, git rebase --skip drops it and carries on.

Why does Git say “There is no merge to abort”?

fatal: There is no merge to abort (MERGE_HEAD missing).

• The merge already finished. Read git log -3. If the merge commit is there, undo it as shown below.
• It is a rebase or cherry-pick. git status names the real operation. Use its abort from the table.
• Conflicts came from `git stash pop`. That is not a merge. Run git reset --merge to clear them. The stash is kept, so nothing is lost.

How do I undo a merge that already finished?

If you have not pushed it, move the branch back. Git saves the pre-merge position in ORIG_HEAD:

git reset --hard ORIG_HEAD

That command discards uncommitted changes, so check git status first. If you have pushed it, keep history intact with a revert commit, as explained in how to revert a merge commit:

git revert -m 1 <merge-sha>

How do I undo a rebase that already finished?

Find the commit from before the rebase in the reflog and reset to it:

git reflog
# 7c1d9ab HEAD@{4}: rebase (start): checkout main
# 3e52f10 HEAD@{5}: commit: add search box

git reset --hard HEAD@{5}

Pick the entry just before the line that says rebase (start). Undoing a reset, rebase or commit walks through this in more detail.

Should I abort or resolve the conflicts?

Abort when you merged the wrong branch, had uncommitted work, or want to rethink the approach. Aborting costs nothing, and you can start again whenever you like. Resolve when the conflicts are few and you understand both sides. How to resolve merge conflicts shows how to read the markers.

See continue, skip or abort an operation for every case, and the continue, skip and abort lesson to practise it.