What causes "fatal: refusing to merge unrelated histories"?

You created a new repo on GitHub (with a README/License) and tried to pull it into an existing local repo You are trying to merge two entirely different projects together The .git directory was deleted and re-initialized

Git Error2 Fixes Available

fatal: refusing to merge unrelated histories

fatal: refusing to merge unrelated histories

What does this error mean?

This error happens when you try to pull or merge two branches that have no shared commit history. Git sees them as two completely different projects and refuses to merge them by default to prevent accidental data loss.

Common Causes

You created a new repo on GitHub (with a README/License) and tried to pull it into an existing local repo
You are trying to merge two entirely different projects together
The .git directory was deleted and re-initialized

How to Fix It (2 Solutions)

Allow unrelated histories (The Fix)

Use the --allow-unrelated-histories flag to tell Git it's okay to merge them.

Code

git pull origin main --allow-unrelated-histories
                
# Resolve any merge conflicts that appear
# Then commit the result

Force push (alternative for new repos)

If you just want your local code to overwrite the empty remote repo, force push.

Code

git push --force origin main

Related Errors

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CONFLICT — Merge conflict in file

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Git

git push rejected — failed to push some refs

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Git

You are in 'detached HEAD' state

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