What is the difference between rebase and merge in Git?

By merging you create a new commit with the result of the fusion of the target branch and source branch.

With rebase you put the commit of the current branch on top of the source branch.


Usage rules:
* use rebase on your own branch before asking for a merge in order to have a clean history
* use merge when you work with other people on the same branch


In case of doubt use merge it's safer.