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Conflict Resolution

Resolving conflicts when syncing data with FluxLoop Web Platform.

Overview​

Conflicts occur when:

  • Local changes exist
  • Remote changes were made by teammates
  • Both versions modified simultaneously

FluxLoop detects and helps resolve conflicts automatically.

Detecting Conflicts​

Pull Detection​

$ fluxloop sync pull

[WARNING] Conflict detected in: scenarios/prod-tests
  Local version:  Modified 2024-11-01 10:00 by you
  Remote version: Modified 2024-11-01 11:00 by alice@company.com

Options:
  1. Keep local (discard remote)
  2. Take remote (discard local)
  3. Merge (combine both)
  4. Cancel (do nothing)

Choose (1/2/3/4):

Conflict Types​

Content Conflict​

Both versions modified the same content:

# Local
inputs:
  - text: "How do I start?"  # Your version

# Remote
inputs:
  - text: "How do I get started?"  # Teammate's version

Structural Conflict​

Different structural changes:

# Local: Added evaluation criteria
evaluation:
  criteria:
    - accuracy

# Remote: Added different criteria
evaluation:
  criteria:
    - helpfulness

Resolution Strategies​

1. Keep Local​

Discard remote changes, keep yours:

fluxloop sync pull --keep-local

# Or interactively
Choose (1/2/3/4): 1

When to use:

  • You're confident your changes are correct
  • Remote changes are outdated
  • Working on isolated feature

Caution:

  • Teammate's work is lost
  • May need to coordinate manually

2. Take Remote​

Discard local changes, accept remote:

fluxloop sync pull --keep-remote

# Or interactively
Choose (1/2/3/4): 2

When to use:

  • Remote version is authoritative
  • Your local changes were experimental
  • Want to sync with team

Caution:

  • Your work is lost
  • Save important changes first

3. Manual Merge​

Combine both versions:

# Create merge file
fluxloop sync pull --create-merge

# Merge file created:
# scenarios/prod-tests/MERGE.yaml

Edit merge file:

# MERGE.yaml
inputs:
  # Local version (yours)
  - text: "How do I start?"
    source: local
    author: you
    timestamp: "2024-11-01T10:00:00Z"

  # Remote version (teammate's)
  - text: "How do I get started?"
    source: remote
    author: alice@company.com
    timestamp: "2024-11-01T11:00:00Z"

# Choose one, or keep both:
  - text: "How do I start?"  # Keep this
  # - text: "How do I get started?"  # Comment out

Complete merge:

fluxloop scenarios merge-complete prod-tests

4. Three-Way Merge​

Use common ancestor for intelligent merging:

fluxloop sync pull --merge-strategy three-way

FluxLoop finds common ancestor and merges changes:

# Common ancestor
inputs:
  - text: "Start here"

# Your changes
inputs:
  - text: "Start here"
    context: "onboarding"  # Added

# Teammate's changes
inputs:
  - text: "Start here"
    persona: "novice_user"  # Added

# Merged result
inputs:
  - text: "Start here"
    context: "onboarding"    # From you
    persona: "novice_user"   # From teammate

Preventing Conflicts​

1. Frequent Pulls​

Pull often to stay in sync:

# Start of day
fluxloop sync pull

# Before making changes
fluxloop sync pull

2. Push Regularly​

Upload changes frequently:

# After making changes
fluxloop sync upload

3. Communicate​

Coordinate with team:

Team chat:
"Working on prod-tests scenario today"
"Done with prod-tests, uploaded"

4. Use Branches​

Work on separate scenarios:

# Alice works on auth scenarios
fluxloop scenarios create auth-tests

# Bob works on billing scenarios
fluxloop scenarios create billing-tests

# No conflicts!

Advanced Resolution​

Diff View​

Compare versions:

fluxloop diff scenarios prod-tests --local-remote

Output:

  inputs:
-   - text: "How do I start?"          # Local
+   - text: "How do I get started?"   # Remote

Conflict Markers​

Automatic conflict markers:

inputs:
<<<<<<< LOCAL
  - text: "How do I start?"
=======
  - text: "How do I get started?"
>>>>>>> REMOTE

Edit and remove markers:

inputs:
  - text: "How do I get started?"  # Chose remote version

Partial Acceptance​

Accept some changes, reject others:

# Review changes
fluxloop sync pull --review

# Accept specific changes
fluxloop accept scenarios/prod-tests/input_001
fluxloop accept scenarios/prod-tests/input_002

# Reject others
fluxloop reject scenarios/prod-tests/input_003

Conflict Resolution Tools​

Interactive Mode​

fluxloop sync pull --interactive

Shows diff and prompts for each conflict:

Conflict 1/5:

Local:
  - text: "How do I start?"

Remote:
  - text: "How do I get started?"

Keep (l)ocal, (r)emote, (e)dit, or (s)kip? [l/r/e/s]:

Visual Diff​

Launch visual diff tool:

fluxloop diff scenarios prod-tests --tool vscode

Opens VS Code with side-by-side comparison.

Best Practices​

1. Communicate Before Editing​

✅ "I'm updating prod-tests scenario"
   "Go ahead!"
   [Make changes]
   [Upload]
   "Done!"

❌ [Silent editing]
   [Upload]
   "Oops, conflicts!"

2. Pull Before Push​

# Always pull first
fluxloop sync pull

# Then upload
fluxloop sync upload

3. Small, Frequent Changes​

✅ Small changes, uploaded frequently
❌ Large changes, uploaded rarely

4. Use Descriptive Commit Messages​

fluxloop sync upload --message "Add edge cases for password reset"

5. Review Conflicts Carefully​

# Don't blindly choose
❌ fluxloop pull --keep-local --yes

# Review first
✅ fluxloop pull --review

Troubleshooting​

Can't Merge Automatically​

Problem: Complex conflicts

Solution: Manual merge

fluxloop sync pull --create-merge
# Edit manually
fluxloop scenarios merge-complete

Lost Changes​

Problem: Accidentally discarded changes

Solution: Restore from backup

# FluxLoop keeps backups
fluxloop restore scenarios prod-tests --from backup_20241101_100000

Merge Failed​

Problem: Merge resulted in invalid scenario

Solution: Validate and fix

fluxloop scenarios validate prod-tests
# Fix errors
fluxloop scenarios validate prod-tests

Next Steps​

  • Set up regular sync schedule
  • Communicate with team about changes
  • Practice conflict resolution in staging
  • Establish team conventions