# gel branch merge

Merge a [branch](https://docs.geldata.com/reference/datamodel/branches.md#ref-datamodel-branches) into the current branch.

```cli-synopsis
gel branch merge [<options>] <name>
```

## Description

Merges the target branch with the current branch using a fast-forward strategy, applying any new migrations from the target branch on the current branch.

> Note: This is a fast-forward merge, so no conflict resolution will be applied to the new migrations. If you want to merge but may have conflicts, you should first use [gel branch rebase](https://docs.geldata.com/reference/using/cli/gel_branch/gel_branch_rebase.md#ref-cli-gel-branch-rebase) from the target branch before merging.

> Note: When merging, the data of the current branch is preserved. This means that if you switch to a branch main and run `gel branch merge feature`, you will end up with a branch with the schema from main and any new migrations from `feature` and the data from main.

## Options

The `branch merge` command runs in the Gel instance it is connected to. For specifying the connection target see [connection options](https://docs.geldata.com/reference/using/cli/gel_connopts.md#ref-cli-gel-connopts).

`<name>`:
The name of the branch to merge into the current branch.



`--no-apply`:
Skip applying migrations generated from the merge