Published Jul 19, 2024
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A fast-forward merge can occur when there is a linear path from the current branch tip to the target branch. Instead of “actually” merging the branches, all Git has to do to integrate the histories is move (i.e., “fast forward”) the current branch tip up to the target branch tip. This effectively combines the histories, since all of the commits reachable from the target branch are now available through the current one.
When you try to merge one commit with a commit that can be reached by following the first commit’s history, Git simplifies things by moving the pointer forward, because there isn’t any divergent work to merge together—this is called a fast-forward.