Sorry, the test is wrong. Use this: test_description='Test merge with local conflicts in new files' . ./test-lib.sh test_expect_success 'prepare repository' \ 'echo "Hello" > init && git add init && git commit -m "Initial commit" && git checkout -b B && echo "foo" > foo && git add foo && git commit -m "File: foo" && git checkout master && echo "bar" > foo && ' test_expect_code 1 'Merge with local conflicts in new files' 'git merge "merge msg" HEAD B' test_done - : send the line "unsubscribe git" in the body of a message to majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html