This AZ-400 practice question tests your understanding of design and implement source control. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A team uses Git for source control. They want to automatically squash all commits in a feature branch into a single commit when merging to the main branch. Which merge type should they use?
Rebase and fast-forward
Why wrong: Rebases commits onto target but keeps individual commits.
Squash commit
Combines all changes into a single commit on target branch.
Merge commit (no fast-forward)
Why wrong: Preserves all commits in a merge commit.
Semi-linear merge
Why wrong: Rebases then creates a merge commit; commits are not squashed.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Squash commit
B is correct because the squash commit merge type collapses all commits in a feature branch into a single new commit on the target branch. This satisfies the requirement to automatically squash all commits when merging to main, as it creates a clean, linear history with one combined commit that contains all changes from the feature branch.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Rebase and fast-forward
Why it's wrong here
Rebases commits onto target but keeps individual commits.
Squash commit
Why this is correct
Combines all changes into a single commit on target branch.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Merge commit (no fast-forward)
Why it's wrong here
Preserves all commits in a merge commit.
Semi-linear merge
Why it's wrong here
Rebases then creates a merge commit; commits are not squashed.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'squash commit' with 'rebase and fast-forward' because both can produce a linear history, but only squash commit collapses multiple commits into one.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the hood, a squash merge uses Git's internal merge machinery to compute the diff between the feature branch and the common ancestor, then applies that diff as a single new commit on the target branch. This means the original commit metadata (authors, messages, hashes) is lost, which can complicate attribution and bisecting. In real-world scenarios, teams often use squash merges for short-lived feature branches to keep main history clean, but they must ensure commit messages are descriptive enough to capture the full context of the work.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
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FAQ
Design and implement source control — This question tests Design and implement source control — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Squash commit — B is correct because the squash commit merge type collapses all commits in a feature branch into a single new commit on the target branch. This satisfies the requirement to automatically squash all commits when merging to main, as it creates a clean, linear history with one combined commit that contains all changes from the feature branch.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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