Concept / Term · Foundational
Version-control event
When Git cannot automatically combine competing edits to the same part of a file, so a person must choose the correct result.
Field note
A merge conflict occurs when version-control software cannot safely decide how to combine overlapping changes. Git pauses the merge and marks the competing sections so a person can resolve the intended final version.
The term comes from merging parallel branches of source history. The “conflict” is not a team disagreement; it is an ambiguity in the text changes Git has been asked to combine.
A developer reads both versions, edits the file to the correct result, tests it and then records the resolved merge in a commit.
Conflicts are normal in collaborative work, but careless resolution can silently remove another person’s change or introduce a defect.
In a sentence“Both branches changed the checkout total, so Git stopped with a merge conflict.”