On a clone of linux-2.6: git checkout -b topic/test v2.6.15 touch drivers/a-file.c git add drivers/a-file.c git commit -m 'Add a file' git checkout -b temp0 v2.6.16 git rebase topic/test I get the following: Applying [ACPI] handle ACPICA 20050916's acpi_resource.type rename error: patch failed: drivers/acpi/glue.c:99 error: drivers/acpi/glue.c: patch does not apply error: patch failed: drivers/char/hpet.c:897 error: drivers/char/hpet.c: patch does not apply Using index info to reconstruct a base tree... Falling back to patching base and 3-way merge... Auto-merged drivers/acpi/glue.c Auto-merged drivers/acpi/pci_link.c Auto-merged drivers/char/hpet.c CONFLICT (content): Merge conflict in drivers/char/hpet.c Failed to merge in the changes. Patch failed at 0007. When you have resolved this problem run "git rebase --continue". If you would prefer to skip this patch, instead run "git rebase --skip". To restore the original branch and stop rebasing run "git rebase --abort". Is this a bug, or is there a reason I am seeing conflicts in files I've never touched? - To unsubscribe from this list: 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