Squash Merge: A Clean Story

git merge --squash

Stages the entire combined diff of a branch as one unit, without creating a merge commit or carrying over the branch's own commit history. Confirmed directly in this lab: "Squash commit -- not updating HEAD" appeared, and a single, real git commit afterward created exactly one new commit on master.

The real squash trade-off

Master gets one clean, meaningful commit instead of nine messy ones — genuinely better for anyone reading history later. The real cost: the branch's own nine commits are never part of master's ancestry, confirmed directly by git's own warning when later trying to delete the branch with plain -d.

📝 Create the Real, Messy History

Build a genuinely real branch the way messy exploratory work actually looks — nine vague commits.

cd ~/team-recipes && git switch -c feature/index-cards

cd ~/team-recipes && printf 'Recipe Index Cards\n' > index-cards.md && git add index-cards.md && git commit -m 'WIP'

cd ~/team-recipes && printf 'work in progress\n' >> index-cards.md && git add index-cards.md && git commit -m 'wip more'

cd ~/team-recipes && printf 'a section\n' >> index-cards.md && git add index-cards.md && git commit -m 'asdf'

cd ~/team-recipes && printf 'oops\n' >> index-cards.md && git add index-cards.md && git commit -m 'fix typo'

cd ~/team-recipes && printf 'try again\n' >> index-cards.md && git add index-cards.md && git commit -m 'try again'

cd ~/team-recipes && printf 'more\n' >> index-cards.md && git add index-cards.md && git commit -m 'more work'

cd ~/team-recipes && printf 'almost\n' >> index-cards.md && git add index-cards.md && git commit -m 'almost done'

cd ~/team-recipes && printf 'done?\n' >> index-cards.md && git add index-cards.md && git commit -m 'think this works'

cd ~/team-recipes && printf 'Store recipe cards in a labeled box, organized by course.\n' >> index-cards.md && git add index-cards.md && git commit -m 'actually done now'

cd ~/team-recipes && git push -u origin feature/index-cards

cd ~/team-recipes && git log --oneline feature/index-cards -9

student@lab:~$ cd ~/team-recipes && git switch -c feature/index-cards Switched to a new branch 'feature/index-cards' student@lab:~$ cd ~/team-recipes && printf 'Recipe Index Cards\n' > index-cards.md && git add index-cards.md && git commit -m 'WIP' [feature/index-cards ba76d5c] WIP 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+) create mode 100644 index-cards.md student@lab:~$ cd ~/team-recipes && printf 'work in progress\n' >> index-cards.md && git add index-cards.md && git commit -m 'wip more' [feature/index-cards 741e625] wip more 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+) student@lab:~$ cd ~/team-recipes && printf 'a section\n' >> index-cards.md && git add index-cards.md && git commit -m 'asdf' [feature/index-cards 3fc8d28] asdf 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+) student@lab:~$ cd ~/team-recipes && printf 'oops\n' >> index-cards.md && git add index-cards.md && git commit -m 'fix typo' [feature/index-cards 44f5441] fix typo 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+) student@lab:~$ cd ~/team-recipes && printf 'try again\n' >> index-cards.md && git add index-cards.md && git commit -m 'try again' [feature/index-cards 3c77d62] try again 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+) student@lab:~$ cd ~/team-recipes && printf 'more\n' >> index-cards.md && git add index-cards.md && git commit -m 'more work' [feature/index-cards 5b74044] more work 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+) student@lab:~$ cd ~/team-recipes && printf 'almost\n' >> index-cards.md && git add index-cards.md && git commit -m 'almost done' [feature/index-cards b17c3b3] almost done 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+) student@lab:~$ cd ~/team-recipes && printf 'done?\n' >> index-cards.md && git add index-cards.md && git commit -m 'think this works' [feature/index-cards 157f3c4] think this works 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+) student@lab:~$ cd ~/team-recipes && printf 'Store recipe cards in a labeled box, organized by course.\n' >> index-cards.md && git add index-cards.md && git commit -m 'actually done now' [feature/index-cards 0d449a0] actually done now 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+) student@lab:~$ cd ~/team-recipes && git push -u origin feature/index-cards Enumerating objects: 13, done. Counting objects: 100% (13/13), done. Compressing objects: 100% (10/10), done. Writing objects: 100% (13/13), 1.09 KiB | 1.09 MiB/s, done. Total 13 (delta 6), reused 0 (delta 0), pack-reused 0 To ../recipes-origin.git * [new branch] feature/index-cards -> feature/index-cards branch 'feature/index-cards' set up to track 'origin/feature/index-cards'. student@lab:~$ cd ~/team-recipes && git log --oneline feature/index-cards -9 0d449a0 (HEAD -> feature/index-cards, origin/feature/index-cards) actually done now 157f3c4 think this works b17c3b3 almost done 5b74044 more work 3c77d62 try again 44f5441 fix typo 3fc8d28 asdf 741e625 wip more ba76d5c WIP

📦 Squash the Entire Real Diff

Stage all nine commits' combined changes as one unit, ready for a single, clean commit.

cd ~/team-recipes && git switch master

cd ~/team-recipes && git merge --squash feature/index-cards

cd ~/team-recipes && git status

student@lab:~$ cd ~/team-recipes && git switch master Switched to branch 'master' Your branch is up to date with 'origin/master'. student@lab:~$ cd ~/team-recipes && git merge --squash feature/index-cards Updating 67f9971..0d449a0 Fast-forward Squash commit -- not updating HEAD index-cards.md | 9 +++++++++ 1 file changed, 9 insertions(+) create mode 100644 index-cards.md student@lab:~$ cd ~/team-recipes && git status On branch master Your branch is up to date with 'origin/master'. Changes to be committed: (use "git restore --staged <file>..." to unstage) new file: index-cards.md

✅ Write the One Real, Clean Commit

Commit the squashed result with a single, meaningful message describing the real finished feature.

cd ~/team-recipes && git commit -m 'Add recipe index card storage guide'

cd ~/team-recipes && git push

cd ~/team-recipes && git log --oneline -3

student@lab:~$ cd ~/team-recipes && git commit -m 'Add recipe index card storage guide' [master ee10ef1] Add recipe index card storage guide 1 file changed, 9 insertions(+) create mode 100644 index-cards.md student@lab:~$ cd ~/team-recipes && git push Enumerating objects: 4, done. Counting objects: 100% (4/4), done. Compressing objects: 100% (3/3), done. Writing objects: 100% (3/3), 402 bytes | 80.00 KiB/s, done. Total 3 (delta 1), reused 0 (delta 0), pack-reused 0 To ../recipes-origin.git 67f9971..ee10ef1 master -> master student@lab:~$ cd ~/team-recipes && git log --oneline -3 ee10ef1 (HEAD -> master, origin/master, origin/HEAD) Add recipe index card storage guide 67f9971 Merge pull request: spice rack guide eb43506 Add freezer labeling recipe note

⚠️ See the Real Cost, Confirmed Directly

Try to delete the now-redundant branch, and read git's own honest warning about what squash actually did.

cd ~/team-recipes && git branch -d feature/index-cards

student@lab:~$ cd ~/team-recipes && git branch -d feature/index-cards warning: deleting branch 'feature/index-cards' that has been merged to 'refs/remotes/origin/feature/index-cards', but not yet merged to HEAD Deleted branch feature/index-cards (was 0d449a0).