Changes to the same file in a remote repository and local copy of a Git can make you encounter the following problem:

error: Your local changes to the following files would be overwritten by merge:

repofol/file1

Please, commit your changes or stash them before you can merge.

This Git tutorial will discuss this error, its reasons, and the solutions.

Reasons For “Please Commit Your Changes Or Stash Them Before You Can Merge” Message

Git allows you to keep various copies of a repository. Thus, you can maintain a version on one computer and a different version on another computer. 

The repository’s central version can also change before getting a change. If you change it, you will have to pull a local copy to get the latest version of the codebase.

You will get the error when your updated version still shows a change in a file conflicting with the one made on your local machine. This is because Git is unsure whether to keep the remote or the local version of the change.

How To Resolve: “Please Commit Your Changes Or Stash Them Before You Can Merge” In Git

Method 1: Commit A Changed File

You should add the staging area with a modified file and create a commit to it:

git add filename.md

git commit -m "feat: A change has been made"

Pushing your commit will reflect your change in the codebase.

Method 2: Discard Changes

All changes in a remote repository will likely stay in place. Therefore, if you want to discard your changes, let’s reset the last commit or checkout the file’s remote version. This way, your changes will be accepted.

Use the following git checkout command to discard the file:

git checkout filename.md

Here is the code to reset the last commit:

git reset --hard

The -hard flag notifies your computer of a change to the index, working directory, and HEAD. It means the local machine’s files are changed to reflect the remote repository’s current state.

Method 3: Stash Changes

Stashing keeps track of changes which you refer to later. This memory will be of great help when you retrieve a repository’s remote copy and save a record of changes.

All stashed changes will not be uploaded unless you create a separate commit to add them. Run the following Git stash command:

 git stash

Now you have saved your changes and the code is ready to be merged into the main version. You can also discard your changes as well. Run the git stash pop keyword. 

The same error will occur if the remote version changes again. For this reason, this is only a temporary solution before you decide to commit the file to the main development line.

Conclusion

The “Please Commit Your Changes Or Stash Them Before You Can Merge” error is easy to occur when you pull the code. So when encountering the error, you can solve it by committing to the repository, discarding, or stashing the changes.

👇️ Read more: How to Fix The Error “Updates Were Rejected Because The Tip of Your Current Branch is Behind”