{"id":19619,"date":"2020-07-17T01:35:04","date_gmt":"2020-07-17T08:35:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/careerkarma.com\/blog\/?p=19619"},"modified":"2023-12-01T03:55:28","modified_gmt":"2023-12-01T11:55:28","slug":"git-fatal-refusing-to-merge-unrelated-histories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/careerkarma.com\/blog\/git-fatal-refusing-to-merge-unrelated-histories\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Solve fatal: refusing to merge unrelated histories"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After using Git for a while, you\u2019ll notice that there\u2019s a lot of mistakes that can be difficult to fix. This isn\u2019t the case with the fatal: refusing to merge unrelated histories error. Unlike a number of other errors, this issue has one solution that you can reuse whenever you encounter it.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this guide, we\u2019re going to talk about how to solve the fatal: refusing to merge unrelated histories errors in Git. Let\u2019s get started!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Does the Error Occur?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The error fatal: refusing to merge unrelated histories<\/code> occurs when two unrelated projects are merged into a single branch. This error arises because each project has its own history of commits and tags. These two histories will be incompatible with each other.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are two main scenarios when this error may arise.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you create a new repository, make a few commits, and try to pull from another remote repository, this error can occur. This error will be displayed because the local repository with which you are working will have a different history to the project which you are trying to retrieve.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may encounter this error if the .git directory inside a project that has been deleted or corrupted. In this case, the Git command line may not be able to read your local project\u2019s history.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you try to push data to or pull data from a remote repository, this error will occur. This is because Git doesn\u2019t know if the remote repository is compatible with your current repository.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Solve \u2018fatal: refusing to merge unrelated histories\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve done enough talking. To solve this issue, you can use the --allow-unrelated-histories<\/code> flag when pulling data from a repository:
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Git pull origin master –allow-unrelated-histories
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll want to substitute origin<\/code> with the remote repository from which you are pulling resources. You should replace master<\/code> with the branch that you want to retrieve.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This command was added to handle the rare event that you are working with two projects that have their own branches. 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alternatively, you could clone a new version of the remote repository using git clone<\/a> and start over. However, this is not usually necessary.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can read more about the –allow-unrelated-histories flag on the official Git documentation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The fatal: refusing to merge unrelated histories error occurs when either a .git directory is unreadable or when you are trying to pull data from a repository with its own commit history. This error tells you that you are trying to Git merge two unrelated projects to the same work tree.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now you\u2019re ready to solve this error using the –allow-unrelated-histories flag like an expert!
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After using Git for a while, you\u2019ll notice that there\u2019s a lot of mistakes that can be difficult to fix. This isn\u2019t the case with the fatal: refusing to merge unrelated histories error. Unlike a number of other errors, this issue has one solution that you can reuse whenever you encounter it. In this guide,…","protected":false},"author":240,"featured_media":19673,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17286],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-19619","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-git"},"acf":{"post_sub_title":"","sprint_id":"","query_class":"Git","school_sft":"","parent_sft":"","school_privacy_policy":"","has_review":null,"is_sponser_post":"","is_guest_post":""},"yoast_head":"\nHow to Solve fatal: refusing to merge unrelated histories | Career Karma<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The fatal: refusing to merge unrelated histories git error can be resolved using the --allow-unrelated-histories flag. 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