# \[PATCH v2 03/10\] Documentation: edit awkward references to \`git merge-recursive\`

- From: Elijah Newren via GitGitGadget \<hidden\>
- Date: 2021-08-04 05:29:08 
- List: git
- Page: https://ratatoskr.run/git/2021/08/7898261
- Thread: https://ratatoskr.run/git/2021/08/7898158/t.md

```text
From: Elijah Newren <redacted>

A few places in the documentation referred to the "`recursive` strategy"
using the phrase "`git merge-recursive`", suggesting that it was forking
subprocesses to call a toplevel builtin.  Perhaps that was relevant to
when rebase was a shell script, but it seems like a rather indirect way
to refer to the `recursive` strategy.  Simplify the references.

Signed-off-by: Elijah Newren <redacted>
---
 Documentation/git-rebase.txt       | 5 ++---
 Documentation/merge-options.txt    | 4 ++--
 Documentation/merge-strategies.txt | 9 +++++----
 3 files changed, 9 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/git-rebase.txt b/Documentation/git-rebase.txt
index 8a67227846a..c3edcb07e3e 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-rebase.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-rebase.txt
@@ -354,9 +354,8 @@ See also INCOMPATIBLE OPTIONS below.
 
 -s <strategy>::
 --strategy=<strategy>::
-	Use the given merge strategy.
-	If there is no `-s` option 'git merge-recursive' is used
-	instead.  This implies --merge.
+	Use the given merge strategy, instead of the default
+	`recursive`.  This implies `--merge`.
 +
 Because 'git rebase' replays each commit from the working branch
 on top of the <upstream> branch using the given strategy, using
diff --git a/Documentation/merge-options.txt b/Documentation/merge-options.txt
index eb0aabd396f..f819bd8dd68 100644
--- a/Documentation/merge-options.txt
+++ b/Documentation/merge-options.txt
@@ -112,8 +112,8 @@ With --squash, --commit is not allowed, and will fail.
 	Use the given merge strategy; can be supplied more than
 	once to specify them in the order they should be tried.
 	If there is no `-s` option, a built-in list of strategies
-	is used instead ('git merge-recursive' when merging a single
-	head, 'git merge-octopus' otherwise).
+	is used instead (`recursive` when merging a single head,
+	`octopus` otherwise).
 
 -X <option>::
 --strategy-option=<option>::
diff --git a/Documentation/merge-strategies.txt b/Documentation/merge-strategies.txt
index 2912de706bf..5d707e952aa 100644
--- a/Documentation/merge-strategies.txt
+++ b/Documentation/merge-strategies.txt
@@ -51,10 +51,11 @@ patience;;
 	See also linkgit:git-diff[1] `--patience`.
 
 diff-algorithm=[patience|minimal|histogram|myers];;
-	Tells 'merge-recursive' to use a different diff algorithm, which
-	can help avoid mismerges that occur due to unimportant matching
-	lines (such as braces from distinct functions).  See also
-	linkgit:git-diff[1] `--diff-algorithm`.
+	Use a different diff algorithm while merging, which can help
+	avoid mismerges that occur due to unimportant matching lines
+	(such as braces from distinct functions).  See also
+	linkgit:git-diff[1] `--diff-algorithm`.  Defaults to the
+	`diff.algorithm` config setting.
 
 ignore-space-change;;
 ignore-all-space;;
-- 
gitgitgadget

```