25 files changed, 693 insertions, 277 deletions

diff --git a/Documentation/config/rebase.txt b/Documentation/config/rebase.txt
index d98e32d812..7f7a07d22f 100644
--- a/Documentation/config/rebase.txt
+++ b/Documentation/config/rebase.txt
@@ -5,6 +5,12 @@ rebase.useBuiltin::
 	is always used. Setting this will emit a warning, to alert any
 	remaining users that setting this now does nothing.
 
+rebase.backend::
+	Default backend to use for rebasing.  Possible choices are
+	'apply' or 'merge'.  In the future, if the merge backend gains
+	all remaining capabilities of the apply backend, this setting
+	may become unused.
+
 rebase.stat::
 	Whether to show a diffstat of what changed upstream since the last
 	rebase. False by default.
diff --git a/Documentation/git-rebase.txt b/Documentation/git-rebase.txt
index 0c4f038dd6..8c1f4b8268 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-rebase.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-rebase.txt
@@ -258,16 +258,45 @@ See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
 	original branch. The index and working tree are also left
 	unchanged as a result.
 
---keep-empty::
-	Keep the commits that do not change anything from its
-	parents in the result.
+--apply:
+	Use applying strategies to rebase (calling `git-am`
+	internally).  This option may become a no-op in the future
+	once the merge backend handles everything the apply one does.
++
+See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
+
+--empty={drop,keep,ask}::
+	How to handle commits that are not empty to start and are not
+	clean cherry-picks of any upstream commit, but which become
+	empty after rebasing (because they contain a subset of already
+	upstream changes).  With drop (the default), commits that
+	become empty are dropped.  With keep, such commits are kept.
+	With ask (implied by --interactive), the rebase will halt when
+	an empty commit is applied allowing you to choose whether to
+	drop it, edit files more, or just commit the empty changes.
+	Other options, like --exec, will use the default of drop unless
+	-i/--interactive is explicitly specified.
++
+Note that commits which start empty are kept, and commits which are
+clean cherry-picks (as determined by `git log --cherry-mark ...`) are
+always dropped.
 +
 See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
 
+--keep-empty::
+	No-op.  Rebasing commits that started empty (had no change
+	relative to their parent) used to fail and this option would
+	override that behavior, allowing commits with empty changes to
+	be rebased.  Now commits with no changes do not cause rebasing
+	to halt.
++
+See also BEHAVIORAL DIFFERENCES and INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
+
 --allow-empty-message::
-	By default, rebasing commits with an empty message will fail.
-	This option overrides that behavior, allowing commits with empty
-	messages to be rebased.
+	No-op.  Rebasing commits with an empty message used to fail
+	and this option would override that behavior, allowing commits
+	with empty messages to be rebased.  Now commits with an empty
+	message do not cause rebasing to halt.
 +
 See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
 
@@ -286,7 +315,7 @@ See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
 --merge::
 	Use merging strategies to rebase.  When the recursive (default) merge
 	strategy is used, this allows rebase to be aware of renames on the
-	upstream side.
+	upstream side.  This is the default.
 +
 Note that a rebase merge works by replaying each commit from the working
 branch on top of the <upstream> branch.  Because of this, when a merge
@@ -356,7 +385,7 @@ See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
 	Ensure at least <n> lines of surrounding context match before
 	and after each change.  When fewer lines of surrounding
 	context exist they all must match.  By default no context is
-	ever ignored.
+	ever ignored.  Implies --apply.
 +
 See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
 
@@ -394,8 +423,9 @@ with `--keep-base` in order to drop those commits from your branch.
 
 --ignore-whitespace::
 --whitespace=<option>::
-	These flag are passed to the 'git apply' program
+	These flags are passed to the 'git apply' program
 	(see linkgit:git-apply[1]) that applies the patch.
+	Implies --apply.
 +
 See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
 
@@ -539,10 +569,11 @@ INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS
 
 The following options:
 
+ * --apply
  * --committer-date-is-author-date
  * --ignore-date
- * --whitespace
  * --ignore-whitespace
+ * --whitespace
  * -C
 
 are incompatible with the following options:
@@ -557,6 +588,7 @@ are incompatible with the following options:
  * --interactive
  * --exec
  * --keep-empty
+ * --empty=
  * --edit-todo
  * --root when used in combination with --onto
 
@@ -565,33 +597,127 @@ In addition, the following pairs of options are incompatible:
  * --preserve-merges and --interactive
  * --preserve-merges and --signoff
  * --preserve-merges and --rebase-merges
+ * --preserve-merges and --empty=
  * --keep-base and --onto
  * --keep-base and --root
 
 BEHAVIORAL DIFFERENCES
 -----------------------
 
-There are some subtle differences how the backends behave.
+git rebase has two primary backends: apply and merge.  (The apply
+backend used to known as the 'am' backend, but the name led to
+confusion as it looks like a verb instead of a noun.  Also, the merge
+backend used to be known as the interactive backend, but it is now
+used for non-interactive cases as well.  Both were renamed based on
+lower-level functionality that underpinned each.) There are some
+subtle differences in how these two backends behave:
 
 Empty commits
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
-The am backend drops any "empty" commits, regardless of whether the
-commit started empty (had no changes relative to its parent to
-start with) or ended empty (all changes were already applied
-upstream in other commits).
+The apply backend unfortunately drops intentionally empty commits, i.e.
+commits that started empty, though these are rare in practice.  It
+also drops commits that become empty and has no option for controlling
+this behavior.
 
-The interactive backend drops commits by default that
-started empty and halts if it hits a commit that ended up empty.
-The `--keep-empty` option exists for the interactive backend to allow
-it to keep commits that started empty.
+The merge backend keeps intentionally empty commits.  Similar to the
+apply backend, by default the merge backend drops commits that become
+empty unless -i/--interactive is specified (in which case it stops and
+asks the user what to do).  The merge backend also has an
+--empty={drop,keep,ask} option for changing the behavior of handling
+commits that become empty.
 
 Directory rename detection
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
-Directory rename heuristics are enabled in the merge and interactive
-backends.  Due to the lack of accurate tree information, directory
-rename detection is disabled in the am backend.
+Due to the lack of accurate tree information (arising from
+constructing fake ancestors with the limited information available in
+patches), directory rename detection is disabled in the apply backend.
+Disabled directory rename detection means that if one side of history
+renames a directory and the other adds new files to the old directory,
+then the new files will be left behind in the old directory without
+any warning at the time of rebasing that you may want to move these
+files into the new directory.
+
+Directory rename detection works with the merge backend to provide you
+warnings in such cases.
+
+Context
+~~~~~~~
+
+The apply backend works by creating a sequence of patches (by calling
+`format-patch` internally), and then applying the patches in sequence
+(calling `am` internally).  Patches are composed of multiple hunks,
+each with line numbers, a context region, and the actual changes.  The
+line numbers have to be taken with some fuzz, since the other side
+will likely have inserted or deleted lines earlier in the file.  The
+context region is meant to help find how to adjust the line numbers in
+order to apply the changes to the right lines.  However, if multiple
+areas of the code have the same surrounding lines of context, the
+wrong one can be picked.  There are real-world cases where this has
+caused commits to be reapplied incorrectly with no conflicts reported.
+Setting diff.context to a larger value may prevent such types of
+problems, but increases the chance of spurious conflicts (since it
+will require more lines of matching context to apply).
+
+The merge backend works with a full copy of each relevant file,
+insulating it from these types of problems.
+
+Labelling of conflicts markers
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+When there are content conflicts, the merge machinery tries to
+annotate each side's conflict markers with the commits where the
+content came from.  Since the apply backend drops the original
+information about the rebased commits and their parents (and instead
+generates new fake commits based off limited information in the
+generated patches), those commits cannot be identified; instead it has
+to fall back to a commit summary.  Also, when merge.conflictStyle is
+set to diff3, the apply backend will use "constructed merge base" to
+label the content from the merge base, and thus provide no information
+about the merge base commit whatsoever.
+
+The merge backend works with the full commits on both sides of history
+and thus has no such limitations.
+
+Hooks
+~~~~~
+
+The apply backend has not traditionally called the post-commit hook,
+while the merge backend has.  However, this was by accident of
+implementation rather than by design.  Both backends should have the
+same behavior, though it is not clear which one is correct.
+
+Interruptability
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+The apply backend has safety problems with an ill-timed interrupt; if
+the user presses Ctrl-C at the wrong time to try to abort the rebase,
+the rebase can enter a state where it cannot be aborted with a
+subsequent `git rebase --abort`.  The merge backend does not appear to
+suffer from the same shortcoming.  (See
+https://lore.kernel.org/git/20200207132152.GC2868@szeder.dev/ for
+details.)
+
+Miscellaneous differences
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+There are a few more behavioral differences that most folks would
+probably consider inconsequential but which are mentioned for
+completeness:
+
+* Reflog: The two backends will use different wording when describing
+  the changes made in the reflog, though both will make use of the
+  word "rebase".
+
+* Progress, informational, and error messages: The two backends
+  provide slightly different progress and informational messages.
+  Also, the apply backend writes error messages (such as "Your files
+  would be overwritten...") to stdout, while the merge backend writes
+  them to stderr.
+
+* State directories: The two backends keep their state in different
+  directories under .git/
 
 include::merge-strategies.txt[]
 
diff --git a/builtin/rebase.c b/builtin/rebase.c
index 6154ad8fa5..ffa467aad5 100644
--- a/builtin/rebase.c
+++ b/builtin/rebase.c
@@ -44,14 +44,22 @@ static GIT_PATH_FUNC(merge_dir, "rebase-merge")
 
 enum rebase_type {
 	REBASE_UNSPECIFIED = -1,
-	REBASE_AM,
+	REBASE_APPLY,
 	REBASE_MERGE,
-	REBASE_INTERACTIVE,
 	REBASE_PRESERVE_MERGES
 };
 
+enum empty_type {
+	EMPTY_UNSPECIFIED = -1,
+	EMPTY_DROP,
+	EMPTY_KEEP,
+	EMPTY_ASK
+};
+
 struct rebase_options {
 	enum rebase_type type;
+	enum empty_type empty;
+	const char *default_backend;
 	const char *state_dir;
 	struct commit *upstream;
 	const char *upstream_name;
@@ -77,7 +85,6 @@ struct rebase_options {
 	const char *action;
 	int signoff;
 	int allow_rerere_autoupdate;
-	int keep_empty;
 	int autosquash;
 	char *gpg_sign_opt;
 	int autostash;
@@ -92,6 +99,8 @@ struct rebase_options {
 
 #define REBASE_OPTIONS_INIT {			  	\
 		.type = REBASE_UNSPECIFIED,	  	\
+		.empty = EMPTY_UNSPECIFIED,	  	\
+		.default_backend = "merge",	  	\
 		.flags = REBASE_NO_QUIET, 		\
 		.git_am_opts = ARGV_ARRAY_INIT,		\
 		.git_format_patch_opt = STRBUF_INIT	\
@@ -110,6 +119,9 @@ static struct replay_opts get_replay_opts(const struct rebase_options *opts)
 		replay.allow_rerere_auto = opts->allow_rerere_autoupdate;
 	replay.allow_empty = 1;
 	replay.allow_empty_message = opts->allow_empty_message;
+	replay.drop_redundant_commits = (opts->empty == EMPTY_DROP);
+	replay.keep_redundant_commits = (opts->empty == EMPTY_KEEP);
+	replay.quiet = !(opts->flags & REBASE_NO_QUIET);
 	replay.verbose = opts->flags & REBASE_VERBOSE;
 	replay.reschedule_failed_exec = opts->reschedule_failed_exec;
 	replay.gpg_sign = xstrdup_or_null(opts->gpg_sign_opt);
@@ -329,8 +341,8 @@ static int do_interactive_rebase(struct rebase_options *opts, unsigned flags)
 
 	argv_array_pushl(&make_script_args, "", revisions, NULL);
 	if (opts->restrict_revision)
-		argv_array_push(&make_script_args,
-				oid_to_hex(&opts->restrict_revision->object.oid));
+		argv_array_pushf(&make_script_args, "^%s",
+				 oid_to_hex(&opts->restrict_revision->object.oid));
 
 	ret = sequencer_make_script(the_repository, &todo_list.buf,
 				    make_script_args.argc, make_script_args.argv,
@@ -359,7 +371,7 @@ static int do_interactive_rebase(struct rebase_options *opts, unsigned flags)
 	return ret;
 }
 
-static int run_rebase_interactive(struct rebase_options *opts,
+static int run_sequencer_rebase(struct rebase_options *opts,
 				  enum action command)
 {
 	unsigned flags = 0;
@@ -367,7 +379,6 @@ static int run_rebase_interactive(struct rebase_options *opts,
 
 	git_config_get_bool("rebase.abbreviatecommands", &abbreviate_commands);
 
-	flags |= opts->keep_empty ? TODO_LIST_KEEP_EMPTY : 0;
 	flags |= abbreviate_commands ? TODO_LIST_ABBREVIATE_CMDS : 0;
 	flags |= opts->rebase_merges ? TODO_LIST_REBASE_MERGES : 0;
 	flags |= opts->rebase_cousins > 0 ? TODO_LIST_REBASE_COUSINS : 0;
@@ -431,6 +442,21 @@ static int run_rebase_interactive(struct rebase_options *opts,
 	return ret;
 }
 
+static int parse_opt_keep_empty(const struct option *opt, const char *arg,
+				int unset)
+{
+	struct rebase_options *opts = opt->value;
+
+	BUG_ON_OPT_ARG(arg);
+
+	/*
+	 * If we ever want to remap --keep-empty to --empty=keep, insert:
+	 * 	opts->empty = unset ? EMPTY_UNSPECIFIED : EMPTY_KEEP;
+	 */
+	opts->type = REBASE_MERGE;
+	return 0;
+}
+
 static const char * const builtin_rebase_interactive_usage[] = {
 	N_("git rebase--interactive [<options>]"),
 	NULL
@@ -444,9 +470,13 @@ int cmd_rebase__interactive(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	struct option options[] = {
 		OPT_NEGBIT(0, "ff", &opts.flags, N_("allow fast-forward"),
 			   REBASE_FORCE),
-		OPT_BOOL(0, "keep-empty", &opts.keep_empty, N_("keep empty commits")),
-		OPT_BOOL(0, "allow-empty-message", &opts.allow_empty_message,
-			 N_("allow commits with empty messages")),
+		{ OPTION_CALLBACK, 'k', "keep-empty", &options, NULL,
+			N_("(DEPRECATED) keep empty commits"),
+			PARSE_OPT_NOARG | PARSE_OPT_HIDDEN,
+			parse_opt_keep_empty },
+		OPT_BOOL_F(0, "allow-empty-message", &opts.allow_empty_message,
+			   N_("allow commits with empty messages"),
+			   PARSE_OPT_HIDDEN),
 		OPT_BOOL(0, "rebase-merges", &opts.rebase_merges, N_("rebase merge commits")),
 		OPT_BOOL(0, "rebase-cousins", &opts.rebase_cousins,
 			 N_("keep original branch points of cousins")),
@@ -516,28 +546,26 @@ int cmd_rebase__interactive(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		warning(_("--[no-]rebase-cousins has no effect without "
 			  "--rebase-merges"));
 
-	return !!run_rebase_interactive(&opts, command);
+	return !!run_sequencer_rebase(&opts, command);
 }
 
-static int is_interactive(struct rebase_options *opts)
+static int is_merge(struct rebase_options *opts)
 {
-	return opts->type == REBASE_INTERACTIVE ||
+	return opts->type == REBASE_MERGE ||
 		opts->type == REBASE_PRESERVE_MERGES;
 }
 
-static void imply_interactive(struct rebase_options *opts, const char *option)
+static void imply_merge(struct rebase_options *opts, const char *option)
 {
 	switch (opts->type) {
-	case REBASE_AM:
+	case REBASE_APPLY:
 		die(_("%s requires an interactive rebase"), option);
 		break;
-	case REBASE_INTERACTIVE:
+	case REBASE_MERGE:
 	case REBASE_PRESERVE_MERGES:
 		break;
-	case REBASE_MERGE:
-		/* we now implement --merge via --interactive */
 	default:
-		opts->type = REBASE_INTERACTIVE; /* implied */
+		opts->type = REBASE_MERGE; /* implied */
 		break;
 	}
 }
@@ -663,8 +691,8 @@ static int rebase_write_basic_state(struct rebase_options *opts)
 		   opts->onto ? oid_to_hex(&opts->onto->object.oid) : "");
 	write_file(state_dir_path("orig-head", opts), "%s",
 		   oid_to_hex(&opts->orig_head));
-	write_file(state_dir_path("quiet", opts), "%s",
-		   opts->flags & REBASE_NO_QUIET ? "" : "t");
+	if (!(opts->flags & REBASE_NO_QUIET))
+		write_file(state_dir_path("quiet", opts), "%s", "");
 	if (opts->flags & REBASE_VERBOSE)
 		write_file(state_dir_path("verbose", opts), "%s", "");
 	if (opts->strategy)
@@ -746,7 +774,7 @@ static int finish_rebase(struct rebase_options *opts)
 	 * user should see them.
 	 */
 	run_command_v_opt(argv_gc_auto, RUN_GIT_CMD);
-	if (opts->type == REBASE_INTERACTIVE) {
+	if (opts->type == REBASE_MERGE) {
 		struct replay_opts replay = REPLAY_OPTS_INIT;
 
 		replay.action = REPLAY_INTERACTIVE_REBASE;
@@ -1079,8 +1107,8 @@ static int run_specific_rebase(struct rebase_options *opts, enum action action)
 	int status;
 	const char *backend, *backend_func;
 
-	if (opts->type == REBASE_INTERACTIVE) {
-		/* Run builtin interactive rebase */
+	if (opts->type == REBASE_MERGE) {
+		/* Run sequencer-based rebase */
 		setenv("GIT_CHERRY_PICK_HELP", resolvemsg, 1);
 		if (!(opts->flags & REBASE_INTERACTIVE_EXPLICIT)) {
 			setenv("GIT_SEQUENCE_EDITOR", ":", 1);
@@ -1093,11 +1121,11 @@ static int run_specific_rebase(struct rebase_options *opts, enum action action)
 			opts->gpg_sign_opt = tmp;
 		}
 
-		status = run_rebase_interactive(opts, action);
+		status = run_sequencer_rebase(opts, action);
 		goto finished_rebase;
 	}
 
-	if (opts->type == REBASE_AM) {
+	if (opts->type == REBASE_APPLY) {
 		status = run_am(opts);
 		goto finished_rebase;
 	}
@@ -1117,8 +1145,6 @@ static int run_specific_rebase(struct rebase_options *opts, enum action action)
 	add_var(&script_snippet, "revisions", opts->revisions);
 	add_var(&script_snippet, "restrict_revision", opts->restrict_revision ?
 		oid_to_hex(&opts->restrict_revision->object.oid) : NULL);
-	add_var(&script_snippet, "GIT_QUIET",
-		opts->flags & REBASE_NO_QUIET ? "" : "t");
 	sq_quote_argv_pretty(&buf, opts->git_am_opts.argv);
 	add_var(&script_snippet, "git_am_opt", buf.buf);
 	strbuf_release(&buf);
@@ -1136,7 +1162,6 @@ static int run_specific_rebase(struct rebase_options *opts, enum action action)
 		opts->allow_rerere_autoupdate ?
 			opts->allow_rerere_autoupdate == RERERE_AUTOUPDATE ?
 			"--rerere-autoupdate" : "--no-rerere-autoupdate" : "");
-	add_var(&script_snippet, "keep_empty", opts->keep_empty ? "yes" : "");
 	add_var(&script_snippet, "autosquash", opts->autosquash ? "t" : "");
 	add_var(&script_snippet, "gpg_sign_opt", opts->gpg_sign_opt);
 	add_var(&script_snippet, "cmd", opts->cmd);
@@ -1154,7 +1179,7 @@ static int run_specific_rebase(struct rebase_options *opts, enum action action)
 	add_var(&script_snippet, "git_format_patch_opt",
 		opts->git_format_patch_opt.buf);
 
-	if (is_interactive(opts) &&
+	if (is_merge(opts) &&
 	    !(opts->flags & REBASE_INTERACTIVE_EXPLICIT)) {
 		strbuf_addstr(&script_snippet,
 			      "GIT_SEQUENCE_EDITOR=:; export GIT_SEQUENCE_EDITOR; ");
@@ -1179,8 +1204,8 @@ static int run_specific_rebase(struct rebase_options *opts, enum action action)
 finished_rebase:
 	if (opts->dont_finish_rebase)
 		; /* do nothing */
-	else if (opts->type == REBASE_INTERACTIVE)
-		; /* interactive rebase cleans up after itself */
+	else if (opts->type == REBASE_MERGE)
+		; /* merge backend cleans up after itself */
 	else if (status == 0) {
 		if (!file_exists(state_dir_path("stopped-sha", opts)))
 			finish_rebase(opts);
@@ -1238,6 +1263,10 @@ static int rebase_config(const char *var, const char *value, void *data)
 		return 0;
 	}
 
+	if (!strcmp(var, "rebase.backend")) {
+		return git_config_string(&opts->default_backend, var, value);
+	}
+
 	return git_default_config(var, value, data);
 }
 
@@ -1301,6 +1330,18 @@ done:
 	return res && is_linear_history(onto, head);
 }
 
+static int parse_opt_am(const struct option *opt, const char *arg, int unset)
+{
+	struct rebase_options *opts = opt->value;
+
+	BUG_ON_OPT_NEG(unset);
+	BUG_ON_OPT_ARG(arg);
+
+	opts->type = REBASE_APPLY;
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
 /* -i followed by -m is still -i */
 static int parse_opt_merge(const struct option *opt, const char *arg, int unset)
 {
@@ -1309,7 +1350,7 @@ static int parse_opt_merge(const struct option *opt, const char *arg, int unset)
 	BUG_ON_OPT_NEG(unset);
 	BUG_ON_OPT_ARG(arg);
 
-	if (!is_interactive(opts))
+	if (!is_merge(opts))
 		opts->type = REBASE_MERGE;
 
 	return 0;
@@ -1324,12 +1365,35 @@ static int parse_opt_interactive(const struct option *opt, const char *arg,
 	BUG_ON_OPT_NEG(unset);
 	BUG_ON_OPT_ARG(arg);
 
-	opts->type = REBASE_INTERACTIVE;
+	opts->type = REBASE_MERGE;
 	opts->flags |= REBASE_INTERACTIVE_EXPLICIT;
 
 	return 0;
 }
 
+static enum empty_type parse_empty_value(const char *value)
+{
+	if (!strcasecmp(value, "drop"))
+		return EMPTY_DROP;
+	else if (!strcasecmp(value, "keep"))
+		return EMPTY_KEEP;
+	else if (!strcasecmp(value, "ask"))
+		return EMPTY_ASK;
+
+	die(_("unrecognized empty type '%s'; valid values are \"drop\", \"keep\", and \"ask\"."), value);
+}
+
+static int parse_opt_empty(const struct option *opt, const char *arg, int unset)
+{
+	struct rebase_options *options = opt->value;
+	enum empty_type value = parse_empty_value(arg);
+
+	BUG_ON_OPT_NEG(unset);
+
+	options->empty = value;
+	return 0;
+}
+
 static void NORETURN error_on_missing_default_upstream(void)
 {
 	struct branch *current_branch = branch_get(NULL);
@@ -1365,14 +1429,14 @@ static void set_reflog_action(struct rebase_options *options)
 	const char *env;
 	struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT;
 
-	if (!is_interactive(options))
+	if (!is_merge(options))
 		return;
 
 	env = getenv(GIT_REFLOG_ACTION_ENVIRONMENT);
 	if (env && strcmp("rebase", env))
 		return; /* only override it if it is "rebase" */
 
-	strbuf_addf(&buf, "rebase -i (%s)", options->action);
+	strbuf_addf(&buf, "rebase (%s)", options->action);
 	setenv(GIT_REFLOG_ACTION_ENVIRONMENT, buf.buf, 1);
 	strbuf_release(&buf);
 }
@@ -1410,6 +1474,7 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	struct object_id squash_onto;
 	char *squash_onto_name = NULL;
 	int reschedule_failed_exec = -1;
+	int allow_preemptive_ff = 1;
 	struct option builtin_rebase_options[] = {
 		OPT_STRING(0, "onto", &options.onto_name,
 			   N_("revision"),
@@ -1420,7 +1485,7 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 			 N_("allow pre-rebase hook to run")),
 		OPT_NEGBIT('q', "quiet", &options.flags,
 			   N_("be quiet. implies --no-stat"),
-			   REBASE_NO_QUIET| REBASE_VERBOSE | REBASE_DIFFSTAT),
+			   REBASE_NO_QUIET | REBASE_VERBOSE | REBASE_DIFFSTAT),
 		OPT_BIT('v', "verbose", &options.flags,
 			N_("display a diffstat of what changed upstream"),
 			REBASE_NO_QUIET | REBASE_VERBOSE | REBASE_DIFFSTAT),
@@ -1461,6 +1526,10 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		OPT_CMDMODE(0, "show-current-patch", &action,
 			    N_("show the patch file being applied or merged"),
 			    ACTION_SHOW_CURRENT_PATCH),
+		{ OPTION_CALLBACK, 0, "apply", &options, NULL,
+			N_("use apply strategies to rebase"),
+			PARSE_OPT_NOARG | PARSE_OPT_NONEG,
+			parse_opt_am },
 		{ OPTION_CALLBACK, 'm', "merge", &options, NULL,
 			N_("use merging strategies to rebase"),
 			PARSE_OPT_NOARG | PARSE_OPT_NONEG,
@@ -1474,8 +1543,13 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 				 "ignoring them"),
 			      REBASE_PRESERVE_MERGES, PARSE_OPT_HIDDEN),
 		OPT_RERERE_AUTOUPDATE(&options.allow_rerere_autoupdate),
-		OPT_BOOL('k', "keep-empty", &options.keep_empty,
-			 N_("preserve empty commits during rebase")),
+		OPT_CALLBACK_F(0, "empty", &options, N_("{drop,keep,ask}"),
+			       N_("how to handle commits that become empty"),
+			       PARSE_OPT_NONEG, parse_opt_empty),
+		{ OPTION_CALLBACK, 'k', "keep-empty", &options, NULL,
+			N_("(DEPRECATED) keep empty commits"),
+			PARSE_OPT_NOARG | PARSE_OPT_HIDDEN,
+			parse_opt_keep_empty },
 		OPT_BOOL(0, "autosquash", &options.autosquash,
 			 N_("move commits that begin with "
 			    "squash!/fixup! under -i")),
@@ -1487,9 +1561,10 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		OPT_STRING_LIST('x', "exec", &exec, N_("exec"),
 				N_("add exec lines after each commit of the "
 				   "editable list")),
-		OPT_BOOL(0, "allow-empty-message",
-			 &options.allow_empty_message,
-			 N_("allow rebasing commits with empty messages")),
+		OPT_BOOL_F(0, "allow-empty-message",
+			   &options.allow_empty_message,
+			   N_("allow rebasing commits with empty messages"),
+			   PARSE_OPT_HIDDEN),
 		{OPTION_STRING, 'r', "rebase-merges", &rebase_merges,
 			N_("mode"),
 			N_("try to rebase merges instead of skipping them"),
@@ -1529,7 +1604,7 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		die(_("It looks like 'git am' is in progress. Cannot rebase."));
 
 	if (is_directory(apply_dir())) {
-		options.type = REBASE_AM;
+		options.type = REBASE_APPLY;
 		options.state_dir = apply_dir();
 	} else if (is_directory(merge_dir())) {
 		strbuf_reset(&buf);
@@ -1541,7 +1616,7 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 			strbuf_reset(&buf);
 			strbuf_addf(&buf, "%s/interactive", merge_dir());
 			if(file_exists(buf.buf)) {
-				options.type = REBASE_INTERACTIVE;
+				options.type = REBASE_MERGE;
 				options.flags |= REBASE_INTERACTIVE_EXPLICIT;
 			} else
 				options.type = REBASE_MERGE;
@@ -1581,12 +1656,12 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		die(_("No rebase in progress?"));
 	setenv(GIT_REFLOG_ACTION_ENVIRONMENT, "rebase", 0);
 
-	if (action == ACTION_EDIT_TODO && !is_interactive(&options))
+	if (action == ACTION_EDIT_TODO && !is_merge(&options))
 		die(_("The --edit-todo action can only be used during "
 		      "interactive rebase."));
 
 	if (trace2_is_enabled()) {
-		if (is_interactive(&options))
+		if (is_merge(&options))
 			trace2_cmd_mode("interactive");
 		else if (exec.nr)
 			trace2_cmd_mode("interactive-exec");
@@ -1662,7 +1737,7 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		goto cleanup;
 	}
 	case ACTION_QUIT: {
-		if (options.type == REBASE_INTERACTIVE) {
+		if (options.type == REBASE_MERGE) {
 			struct replay_opts replay = REPLAY_OPTS_INIT;
 
 			replay.action = REPLAY_INTERACTIVE_REBASE;
@@ -1711,13 +1786,20 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		    state_dir_base, cmd_live_rebase, buf.buf);
 	}
 
+	if ((options.flags & REBASE_INTERACTIVE_EXPLICIT) ||
+	    (action != ACTION_NONE) ||
+	    (exec.nr > 0) ||
+	    options.autosquash) {
+		allow_preemptive_ff = 0;
+	}
+
 	for (i = 0; i < options.git_am_opts.argc; i++) {
 		const char *option = options.git_am_opts.argv[i], *p;
 		if (!strcmp(option, "--committer-date-is-author-date") ||
 		    !strcmp(option, "--ignore-date") ||
 		    !strcmp(option, "--whitespace=fix") ||
 		    !strcmp(option, "--whitespace=strip"))
-			options.flags |= REBASE_FORCE;
+			allow_preemptive_ff = 0;
 		else if (skip_prefix(option, "-C", &p)) {
 			while (*p)
 				if (!isdigit(*(p++)))
@@ -1737,8 +1819,8 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	if (!(options.flags & REBASE_NO_QUIET))
 		argv_array_push(&options.git_am_opts, "-q");
 
-	if (options.keep_empty)
-		imply_interactive(&options, "--keep-empty");
+	if (options.empty != EMPTY_UNSPECIFIED)
+		imply_merge(&options, "--empty");
 
 	if (gpg_sign) {
 		free(options.gpg_sign_opt);
@@ -1748,7 +1830,7 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	if (exec.nr) {
 		int i;
 
-		imply_interactive(&options, "--exec");
+		imply_merge(&options, "--exec");
 
 		strbuf_reset(&buf);
 		for (i = 0; i < exec.nr; i++)
@@ -1764,7 +1846,7 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		else if (strcmp("no-rebase-cousins", rebase_merges))
 			die(_("Unknown mode: %s"), rebase_merges);
 		options.rebase_merges = 1;
-		imply_interactive(&options, "--rebase-merges");
+		imply_merge(&options, "--rebase-merges");
 	}
 
 	if (strategy_options.nr) {
@@ -1783,10 +1865,9 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	if (options.strategy) {
 		options.strategy = xstrdup(options.strategy);
 		switch (options.type) {
-		case REBASE_AM:
+		case REBASE_APPLY:
 			die(_("--strategy requires --merge or --interactive"));
 		case REBASE_MERGE:
-		case REBASE_INTERACTIVE:
 		case REBASE_PRESERVE_MERGES:
 			/* compatible */
 			break;
@@ -1799,47 +1880,65 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	}
 
 	if (options.type == REBASE_MERGE)
-		imply_interactive(&options, "--merge");
+		imply_merge(&options, "--merge");
 
 	if (options.root && !options.onto_name)
-		imply_interactive(&options, "--root without --onto");
+		imply_merge(&options, "--root without --onto");
 
 	if (isatty(2) && options.flags & REBASE_NO_QUIET)
 		strbuf_addstr(&options.git_format_patch_opt, " --progress");
 
+	if (options.git_am_opts.argc || options.type == REBASE_APPLY) {
+		/* all am options except -q are compatible only with --apply */
+		for (i = options.git_am_opts.argc - 1; i >= 0; i--)
+			if (strcmp(options.git_am_opts.argv[i], "-q"))
+				break;
+
+		if (i >= 0) {
+			if (is_merge(&options))
+				die(_("cannot combine apply options with "
+				      "merge options"));
+			else
+				options.type = REBASE_APPLY;
+		}
+	}
+
+	if (options.type == REBASE_UNSPECIFIED) {
+		if (!strcmp(options.default_backend, "merge"))
+			imply_merge(&options, "--merge");
+		else if (!strcmp(options.default_backend, "apply"))
+			options.type = REBASE_APPLY;
+		else
+			die(_("Unknown rebase backend: %s"),
+			    options.default_backend);
+	}
+
 	switch (options.type) {
 	case REBASE_MERGE:
-	case REBASE_INTERACTIVE:
 	case REBASE_PRESERVE_MERGES:
 		options.state_dir = merge_dir();
 		break;
-	case REBASE_AM:
+	case REBASE_APPLY:
 		options.state_dir = apply_dir();
 		break;
 	default:
-		/* the default rebase backend is `--am` */
-		options.type = REBASE_AM;
-		options.state_dir = apply_dir();
-		break;
+		BUG("options.type was just set above; should be unreachable.");
 	}
 
-	if (reschedule_failed_exec > 0 && !is_interactive(&options))
+	if (options.empty == EMPTY_UNSPECIFIED) {
+		if (options.flags & REBASE_INTERACTIVE_EXPLICIT)
+			options.empty = EMPTY_ASK;
+		else if (exec.nr > 0)
+			options.empty = EMPTY_KEEP;
+		else
+			options.empty = EMPTY_DROP;
+	}
+	if (reschedule_failed_exec > 0 && !is_merge(&options))
 		die(_("--reschedule-failed-exec requires "
 		      "--exec or --interactive"));
 	if (reschedule_failed_exec >= 0)
 		options.reschedule_failed_exec = reschedule_failed_exec;
 
-	if (options.git_am_opts.argc) {
-		/* all am options except -q are compatible only with --am */