git - merge conflict when local is deleted but file exists in remote

I am very new to git and wondered how I should go about a merge where in the local repo I have deleted several files on the master branch but these files exist within the remote master branch.

After doing git-merge it shows the conflicts that have occured.

Using git gui it shows that the local file is deleted, while the remote branch file has contents.

How do you stop these files from being conflicted? Is there a simple way using git gui?

Many thanks


You should resolve the conflicts as you see fit. If the file really is supposed to be removed, and you will be publishing that change to origin, remove it again:

git rm path/to/file

If the file should in fact be tracked still, add it (the version in the work tree will be the version from origin):

git add path/to/file

After doing either of those to resolve the conflict, commit the merge.


As an added tip in addition to the accepted answer, in a "deleted by us", if you would like to see the changes that were made to the deleted file so that you may apply those changes elsewhere you can use:

git diff ...origin/master -- path/to/file

If it is a "deleted by them" scenario, and you would like to see the changes so you can apply them elsewhere, you can use:

git diff origin/master... -- path/to/file