Merge Resolution Sessions

A merge resolution session is a temporary, resumable work area for preparing a planned merge or reverse operation in a change list. It keeps merge work separate from the change list until you have resolved and reviewed every affected item.

The session is associated with one workspace change list. It records the files that need attention and the revisions used by its planner. Resolving an item prepares a result in the session; it does not immediately replace the file in the change list.

Supported Planners

A planner determines why a session is needed and prepares the files and resolution choices for that situation. The workspace selects the planner from the context in which a merge resolution session is needed. The Planner field in a session identifies the workflow that created it.

Advance to Latest

The Advance to Latest planner brings pending workspace work forward when newer revisions are available on the Kimura server. It compares the pending workspace content with the newer revision, then prepares the selected content or structural resolution for the change list.

In Workspace changes, creating this session becomes available when one or more files in a change list are no longer at their head revision.

Reverse Cherry-Pick

The Reverse Cherry-Pick planner removes the effect of an earlier edit while retaining later revisions of the same file. The Visual Client uses it when Undo revision into changelist requires a merge to complete the undo safely.

The session keeps that merge work reviewable before its result is applied to the target change list.

Why It Matters

Working against newer revisions is a normal part of a shared workspace. A merge resolution session gives you a clear boundary between preparing a resolution and changing pending work. You can work through files one at a time, compare the available versions, and apply the completed set only when it is ready.

This is especially useful when a change list contains several related edits. It avoids leaving the change list partly updated while you are still deciding how to resolve another file. The same boundary also makes an undo that requires an inverse merge reviewable before it changes the target change list.

How Users Experience It

In the Visual Client, creating a merge resolution session directly from a change list uses the Advance to Latest planner by default. It is available when the change list contains pending files that are behind newer revisions. Undoing an earlier edit can instead create a Reverse Cherry-Pick session automatically. The session lists each affected file with its current and target revisions, resolution state, and available actions.

Depending on the file and configured tools, users can prepare an automatic merge, use a three-way or manual merge tool, compare versions, or choose the current or target content. A session can be refreshed when newer revisions become available, and individual items can be reset to their initial session state.

Apply Is The Commit Point

Resolving an item stages the result for review. The associated change list is updated only when you choose to apply the merged items.

Kimura requires every item in the session to be resolved before it can apply the group. Before applying, it checks that the plan and resolved results are still valid. If the workspace state has changed, refresh and review the session before applying it.

You can cancel a session when you no longer want to use its prepared results. Cancelling discards the session rather than applying its staged results to the change list.

Relationship To Change Lists And Merge Tools

A merge resolution session works with the pending operations already in a change list; it does not create a branch or submit a revision to the Kimura server. Once its results are applied, they remain pending work in the change list and follow the normal review and submit workflow.

Merge and compare actions use configured diff/merge tools. The session keeps the workflow and review state in Kimura while those tools provide the file-level comparison or merge experience.

Current Beta Scope

Advance to Latest and Reverse Cherry-Pick are supported Visual Client planners. Reverse Cherry-Pick is currently available through Undo revision into changelist, rather than as a separate command for arbitrary change lists.