include::merge-strategies.txt[]
+If you tried a merge which resulted in a complex conflicts and
+would want to start over, you can recover with
+gitlink:git-reset[1].
+
+
HOW MERGE WORKS
---------------
2. Cleanly merged paths are updated both in the index file and
in your working tree.
-3. For conflicting paths, the index file records the version
- from `HEAD`. The working tree files have the result of
- "merge" program; i.e. 3-way merge result with familiar
- conflict markers `<<< === >>>`.
+3. For conflicting paths, the index file records up to three
+ versions; stage1 stores the version from the common ancestor,
+ stage2 from `HEAD`, and stage3 from the remote branch (you
+ can inspect the stages with `git-ls-files -u`). The working
+ tree files have the result of "merge" program; i.e. 3-way
+ merge result with familiar conflict markers `<<< === >>>`.
4. No other changes are done. In particular, the local
modifications you had before you started merge will stay the