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Merge a branch into main

Last update: November 3, 2026

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In Experience Manager Guides, you can merge changes from a branch of a DITA map into the main branch. Merging allows you to incorporate completed documentation updates into main without manually copying the changes into main.

For example, consider a DITA map named install-the-lift.ditamap with a branch named Release 2. Authors can update the installation instructions in this branch while the existing documentation remains unchanged in main.

Once the updates are ready, authors can merge the changes from Release 2 into main.

Understand branch merging

Merging brings changes from a selected branch of a DITA map into the main branch.

  • Source branch: The branch containing the changes you want to merge.
  • Target branch: The default branch (main) into which the changes are merged.

If the same part of a topic/map has been modified in both branches, merge conflicts may occur and require resolution.

Merge a branch

You can merge changes from a selected branch of a DITA map into main.

To merge a branch, perform the following steps:

  1. Open the required DITA map in the Map console.

  2. Navigate to the Branches tab.

  3. Locate the branch containing the changes you want to merge.

  4. Open the branch’s Options menu and select Merge into main.

    A merge request is created for the selected branch. It allows you to review the changes and resolve any conflicts before merging them into main.

  5. Select the merge request.

    The merge request opens in the Merge branch view. Review the changes and resolve any conflicts, if required.

  6. Complete the merge.

    Review the changes and resolve any conflicts, if required. For more information, view Resolve merge conflicts.

    Once all conflicts are resolved, select Merge all to merge the changes into main.

    The changes are merged into the main branch.

Resolve merge conflicts

A merge conflict occurs when the same content has been modified in both main and the branch being merged. You must resolve all conflicts before merging the changes into main.

When you open a merge request, the following sections are displayed in the Merge branch view:

  • Conflicts: Lists files that require conflict resolution.
  • Clean updates: Lists files that can be merged without resolving conflicts.

For files with conflicts, a Merge branch view is displayed.

The Merge branch view contains the following panes:

  • Left pane (main): Displays the content from the default branch (main).
  • Middle pane (Merged): Displays the merged content, where you can accept changes from either branch or edit the content directly.
  • Right pane (selected branch): Displays the content from the branch being merged into main.

The differences are highlighted in the left and right panes based on the content in the Merged pane:

  • Red (-): Indicates content present in the Merged pane that differs from the content in the corresponding left or right pane.
  • Green (+): Indicates content present in the left or right pane that is not included in the Merged pane.

Initially, the Merged pane contains the same content as main, so differences are highlighted in the right pane. Once you accept changes from the selected branch, the left pane shows differences compared with the updated Merged pane.

Perform the following steps to resolve merge conflicts:

  1. In the Conflicts section, select the file containing conflicts.

    note
    NOTE
    Files listed under Clean updates contain changes made only in the selected branch and hence do not require conflict resolution.

  2. Review the differences highlighted in the Merge branch view and resolve the conflicts using the merge controls.

    The checkbox next to a conflict in the right pane determines how the selected branch content is added to the Merged pane:

    • Selected (default): Replaces the matching content in the Merged pane with the selected branch content.
    • Cleared: Adds the selected branch content alongside the existing content in the Merged pane without replacing it.

    You can resolve conflicts using the following options:

    • If you want to use the changes from the selected branch, keep the checkbox for the conflict selected and then select the corresponding left-pointing arrow control (<<<). The selected branch content replaces the conflicting content in the Merged pane.

    • If you want to keep content from both branches, clear the checkbox for the conflict and then select the left-pointing arrow control (<<<). This adds the selected branch content to the Merged pane without replacing the content already present in that pane.

    • If you’ve accepted changes from the selected branch and want to restore the corresponding content from main, select the right-pointing arrow control (>>>) in the left pane. This replaces the selected content in the Merged pane with the version from main.

    note tip
    TIP
    Hover over an arrow control to view how accepting the selected change will affect the Merged pane.

  3. After reviewing the merged content, you can also use one of the following options to accept the entire content from either branch:

    • Accept main: Replaces the content in the Merged pane for the selected file with the version from main.
    • Accept [branch name]: Replaces the content in the Merged pane for the selected file with the version from the selected branch.
    note
    NOTE
    Selecting either option replaces the entire content in the Merged pane for the selected file, including any changes you made manually while resolving conflicts.

    Alternatively, you can review or edit the content directly in the Merged pane and select Mark resolved to retain the merged content.

  4. Review the final content in the Merged pane and select Mark resolved to mark the file as resolved.

  5. Repeat the steps for all files listed under Conflicts.

    Once all conflicts are resolved, the Merge all option becomes available.

  6. Select Merge all to merge the resolved files and the clean updates into main.

    note
    NOTE
    The Merge all option remains disabled until all conflicts are resolved.

    The resolved changes are merged into main. A completed merge cannot be undone. However, you can create a new merge request to merge subsequent changes into main.

Manage a merge request

You can manage existing merge requests using the context menu.

To manage a merge request, open its context menu and select one of the following options:

  • Preview: Shows the changes in the merge request without merging them.
  • View log: View the log associated with the merge request.
  • Delete: Delete the merge request. The branch and its changes are not affected.
  • View report: View the merge report after the branch has been merged into main.
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