What is the difference between git merge and git rebase?

[deathlegionteamlk]

I am confused about when to use git merge vs git rebase. Can someone explain the key differences and best practices?

[deathlegionteamlk]

git merge creates a new commit that combines changes from two branches, preserving history exactly as it happened.

git rebase rewrites commit history by moving your commits to the tip of another branch, creating a linear history.

Best practices:

• Use merge for public/shared branches
• Use rebase for cleaning up local feature branches before merging
• Never rebase commits that have been pushed to a shared repository