Branches and merges

Branches are references

Creating a branch records another name for a commit. Shared immutable chunks remain shared. Switching updates the working tree to the selected state; actual cost depends on changed files, object availability, and the filesystem—not an “instant” guarantee.

Text and binary changes

Text-oriented paths can use familiar line merge behavior. Opaque binary assets do not have a universally safe automatic merge. Local locks and explicit ours/theirs decisions can help, while future semantic records may enable narrower domain-aware conflicts.

Merge safety

Inspect status and diffs, commit or stash intentional local work, and keep independent backups during alpha evaluation. The current restorepath does not provide complete merge-conflict resolution.