SourceTree - rebase - Errors During Merge

Question

I'm trying to do something simple like editing the commit message for a previous commit.

Checking git status I have:

nothing to commit, working directory clean

I then click on the commit and do SourceTree > Repository > Interactive Rebase...

but get this dialog box, and a completely blank/empty description area:

Note: I read somewhere that this might be due to FileMerge creating a .orig backup file. However, looking through FileMerge preferences I don't see anything about backup files

Answer 1

The problem is that that's not actually how you do an interactive rebase in SourceTree. I know it's a terribly confusing interface... Do not choose Sourcetree > Repository > Interactive Rebase. Rather, Control-click on the parent commit and choose — from the contextual menu — Rebase children.

Answer 2

Push a remote version of the branch you want to rebase

SourceTree is attempting to present you the local commits that have been made on top of the remote branch.

If the remote branch does not exist, SourceTree doesn't know which commit to use as the "parent" of the rebase.

When you get this extremely unhelpful blank error, the issue is that your current branch does not have a remote. Or perhaps that your local branch is up to date with the remote, and you thus have no commits to rebase.

Push a remote version of your branch at the commit you want to use as the parent of the rebase.