What do the conflict markers mean?

Git inserts three markers around every conflict. The section between >>>>>> is the incoming branch's version ("theirs"). To resolve the conflict, delete the markers and keep whichever content (or a blend of both) is correct.

What is the diff3 conflict style?

If you set merge.conflictstyle to diff3, git adds a third section between ||||||| and =======. This shows the common ancestor — the version of the code before either branch changed it. Seeing the original often makes it clear how to combine both sides correctly.

Are "ours" and "theirs" the same in a merge vs. a rebase?

No. During a merge, "ours" (HEAD) is your current branch and "theirs" is the branch being merged in. During a rebase, the sides are swapped: "ours" becomes the upstream branch you are rebasing onto, and "theirs" is your local commits being replayed. This catches many developers off-guard.

How do I accept all changes from one side quickly in git?

Run "git checkout --ours " to keep only your side, or "git checkout --theirs " to keep only the incoming side. After running the command, stage the file with "git add " and then complete the merge or rebase.

What happens if I leave conflict markers in the file?

The file will contain the raw marker text as literal content, which almost always breaks compilation or tests. Git itself will not prevent you from committing a file that still has conflict markers, so always review and remove them before staging.

Can this tool handle multiple conflicts in one file?

Yes. The tool parses every conflict block in the pasted content and lists them separately. You can choose a different resolution strategy per block and then apply all at once to produce the clean file.

Git Merge Conflict Explainer

Paste a file with git conflict markers and learn what each section means, then pick a resolution strategy to see the resolved output.

<<<<<<< HEAD

Start of your current branch version ("ours")

=======

Divider between ours and theirs

>>>>>>> branch

End of incoming branch version ("theirs")

Paste Conflicted File

Marker	Meaning
<<<<<<< HEAD	Opens conflict block; marks start of your branch's content
\|\|\|\|\|\|\| base	diff3 style only: start of common ancestor content
=======	Divider between ours and theirs (or base and theirs in diff3)
>>>>>>> branch	Closes conflict block; shows the incoming branch name

Paste a conflicted file and click Parse Conflicts to get started.

Copied!

Summary

Paste a file with git conflict markers and learn what each section means, then pick a resolution strategy to see the resolved output.

How it works

Paste your conflicted file content into the input area on the left.
Click "Parse Conflicts" to extract and display each conflict block.
Review the labeled sections for each conflict: HEAD (ours), incoming (theirs), and common ancestor if using diff3.
Choose a resolution strategy on each conflict card: Keep Ours, Keep Theirs, Keep Both, or Manual Edit.
Click "Apply All & Copy" to generate the resolved file and copy it to your clipboard.
Use the Marker Quick Reference panel to review marker syntax and merge vs. rebase behavior.

Use cases

Understanding what <<<<<<, =======, and >>>>>>> markers mean in a conflicted file
Learning the difference between HEAD (ours) and the incoming branch (theirs)
Practicing conflict resolution strategies before applying them in a real repo
Quickly resolving simple accept-ours or accept-theirs conflicts without a GUI tool
Teaching junior developers how git merge conflicts are structured
Resolving rebase conflicts where the incoming vs. current sides are swapped
Generating a clean merged file to paste back into your editor
Checking whether a conflict block has a common base section (diff3 style)

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-09-19 · Reviewed by Nham Vu