GitHub Made Crystal Clear · chapter 3: The GitHub flow: branch, pull request, merge
Anatomy of a conflict block, using the example from GitHub's documentation
2026-10-29
The three marker lines are text in your file, and they must all be gone before you commit.
Below: the paragraphs from the book that build this idea, then the diagram itself (Figure 3.3), and a recap. About a minute of reading.
This is what it looks like when it happens:
Git then edits the conflicted file for you, inserting three marker lines that show both versions side by side. Figure 3.3 labels them, using the documentation's own example.
Recap
- The idea: The three marker lines are text in your file, and they must all be gone before you commit.
- The picture: Figure 3.3, from chapter 3 ("The GitHub flow: branch, pull request, merge") of GitHub Made Crystal Clear.
- Go deeper: the chapter builds this step by step, with recipes and sources at the end.
This diagram is one of many in GitHub Made Crystal Clear.
Every chapter opens with the gist, draws the hard ideas, and ends with recipes and sources.
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