Rebase vs. Merge: Pros and cons

Git rebase and merge are two different approaches for integrating changes between branches. Rebase rewrites commit history by placing commits on top of another branch, creating a linear history but changing commit IDs and timestamps. Merge preserves original commit history by creating a new merge commit that joins two development streams. Rebase is ideal for syncing feature branches with main and cleaning up commit history, while merge is better for updating public branches and maintaining regulatory compliance. The key rule is never to rebase public branches since it requires force pushing and can disrupt team workflows.