ivaldi fuse

Merge timelines together using intelligent chunk-level conflict resolution.

Synopsis

ivaldi fuse <source> to <target>
ivaldi fuse --strategy=<type> <source> to <target>
ivaldi fuse --continue
ivaldi fuse --abort

Description

The fuse command merges two timelines using intelligent chunk-level resolution. Unlike Git’s line-based merging, Ivaldi uses:

Chunk-level intelligence: 64KB chunk granularity
Content-hash based: BLAKE3 hashes detect identical changes
Clean workspace: No conflict markers in files
Multiple strategies: auto, ours, theirs, union, base

Options

--strategy=<type> - Conflict resolution strategy (default: auto)
--continue - Continue merge after resolving conflicts
--abort - Abandon current merge

Merge Strategies

auto (Default)

Intelligent three-way merge:

Automatically resolves non-conflicting changes
Detects identical changes via content hashes
Only flags truly conflicting chunks

ivaldi fuse feature to main

theirs

Accept all changes from source timeline:

No conflicts possible
Use when source is authoritative

ivaldi fuse --strategy=theirs upstream-main to main

ours

Keep all changes from target timeline:

No conflicts possible
Source changes ignored

ivaldi fuse --strategy=ours experimental to main

union

Combine changes from both timelines:

Merges non-duplicate chunks
Useful for append-only files

ivaldi fuse --strategy=union feature-docs to main

base

Revert to common ancestor:

Discards changes from both timelines
Rare use case

ivaldi fuse --strategy=base problematic to main

Examples

Basic Merge

ivaldi fuse feature-auth to main

Fast-Forward Merge

$ ivaldi fuse feature-login to main

[MERGE] Fast-forward merge detected
>> Updating main timeline...

[OK] Merge completed successfully!
  Timeline main updated

Three-Way Merge

$ ivaldi fuse feature-payment to main

Analyzing timelines for merge...

Changes to be merged:
  2 files will be modified

Proceed with merge? (yes/no): yes

>> Creating merge commit...

[OK] Merge completed successfully!
  Merge seal: merge-feature-payment-abc123

Merge with Strategy

# Accept all source changes
ivaldi fuse --strategy=theirs feature to main

# Keep all target changes
ivaldi fuse --strategy=ours feature to main

# Combine both
ivaldi fuse --strategy=union changelog to main

Conflict Resolution

When Conflicts Occur

$ ivaldi fuse feature-auth to main

[CONFLICTS] Merge conflicts detected:

  CONFLICT: src/auth.go
  CONFLICT: src/config.go

>> 2 file(s) with conflicts

Resolution options:
  ivaldi fuse --continue - Use interactive resolver
  ivaldi fuse --strategy=theirs feature-auth to main
  ivaldi fuse --strategy=ours feature-auth to main
  ivaldi fuse --abort - Abort merge

Important: Your workspace files remain clean. No conflict markers written.

Option 1: Choose Strategy

# Accept source changes
ivaldi fuse --strategy=theirs feature-auth to main

# Or keep target changes
ivaldi fuse --strategy=ours feature-auth to main

Option 2: Manual Resolution

# Edit conflicted files
vim src/auth.go

# Stage resolved files
ivaldi gather src/auth.go

# Continue merge
ivaldi fuse --continue

Option 3: Abort

ivaldi fuse --abort

Common Workflows

Feature Integration

# Ensure feature is complete
ivaldi timeline switch feature-payment
ivaldi status

# Switch to main
ivaldi timeline switch main

# Merge feature
ivaldi fuse feature-payment to main

Sync Feature with Main

# On feature timeline
ivaldi timeline switch feature-auth

# Merge main into feature
ivaldi fuse main to feature-auth

Release Preparation

ivaldi timeline switch main

# Merge multiple features
ivaldi fuse feature-auth to main
ivaldi fuse feature-payment to main
ivaldi fuse feature-ui to main

Merge Types

Fast-Forward

When target is ancestor of source:

Before:
  main:    A---B
                \
  feature:       C---D

After:
  main:    A---B---C---D

No merge commit created.

Three-Way

When both timelines diverged:

Before:
  main:    A---B---C
                \
  feature:       D---E

After:
  main:    A---B---C---M
                \     /
  feature:       D---E

Creates merge commit (M).

Why Ivaldi’s Merge is Superior

Aspect	Git	Ivaldi
Conflict markers	Written to files	Never written
Resolution	Manual file editing	Strategy or interactive
Granularity	Line-based	Chunk-based (64KB)
False conflicts	Common	Rare (hash-based)
Workspace	Polluted with markers	Always clean
Identical changes	May conflict	Auto-merged (same hash)

Best Practices

Keep Working Directory Clean

ivaldi status  # Should be clean
ivaldi fuse feature to main

Review Before Merging

ivaldi log --all
ivaldi diff <target-hash> <source-hash>
ivaldi fuse feature to main

Merge Regularly

Merge main into feature frequently
Keep feature timelines small and focused

Test After Merging

ivaldi fuse feature to main
# Run tests
make test

timeline - Create and switch timelines
log - View timeline history
diff - Compare changes
status - Check working directory

Comparison with Git

Git	Ivaldi
`git merge branch`	`ivaldi fuse branch to main`
`git merge --continue`	`ivaldi fuse --continue`
`git merge --abort`	`ivaldi fuse --abort`
`git merge --strategy`	`--strategy` option

Troubleshooting

Timeline Not Found

Error: timeline not found: feature-xyz

Solution:

ivaldi timeline list

Unresolved Conflicts

Error: unresolved conflicts