Nivelletty

Nivelletty is a term used in the context of software development and version control systems, particularly in the context of Git. It refers to the process of flattening or simplifying the commit history of a branch. This is often done to create a cleaner, more linear history before merging a feature branch into the main branch, such as the master or main branch.

The primary goal of nivelletty is to make the commit history easier to understand and navigate. By removing unnecessary commits, such as those that were made during the development process but do not contribute to the final state of the code, the history becomes more concise and focused on the significant changes.

There are several methods to achieve nivelletty, including interactive rebasing, squashing commits, and using the reset command. Interactive rebasing allows developers to reorder, edit, or squash commits, while squashing combines multiple commits into a single commit. The reset command can be used to move the HEAD to a previous commit, effectively removing subsequent commits from the history.

Nivelletty is particularly useful in collaborative environments where maintaining a clear and understandable commit history is crucial. It helps in reducing merge conflicts, making it easier to track the evolution of the codebase, and providing a more straightforward history for code reviews and audits. However, it should be used with caution, as it rewrites commit history and can affect other developers who have based their work on the original commits.