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");
 
-	switch (options.type) {
-	case REBASE_MERGE:
-	case REBASE_INTERACTIVE:
-	case REBASE_PRESERVE_MERGES:
-		options.state_dir = merge_dir();
-		break;
-	case REBASE_AM:
-		options.state_dir = apply_dir();
-		break;
-	default:
-		/* the default rebase backend is `--am` */
-		options.type = REBASE_AM;
-		options.state_dir = apply_dir();
-		break;
-	}
-
-	if (reschedule_failed_exec > 0 && !is_interactive(&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 */
+	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 (is_interactive(&options) && i >= 0)
-			die(_("cannot combine am options with either "
-			      "interactive or merge options"));
+		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_PRESERVE_MERGES:
+		options.state_dir = merge_dir();
+		break;
+	case REBASE_APPLY:
+		options.state_dir = apply_dir();
+		break;
+	default:
+		BUG("options.type was just set above; should be unreachable.");
+	}
+
+	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.signoff) {
 		if (options.type == REBASE_PRESERVE_MERGES)
 			die("cannot combine '--signoff' with "
@@ -2045,12 +2144,14 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	/*
 	 * Check if we are already based on onto with linear history,
 	 * in which case we could fast-forward without replacing the commits
-	 * with new commits recreated by replaying their changes. This
-	 * optimization must not be done if this is an interactive rebase.
+	 * with new commits recreated by replaying their changes.
+	 *
+	 * Note that can_fast_forward() initializes merge_base, so we have to
+	 * call it before checking allow_preemptive_ff.
 	 */
 	if (can_fast_forward(options.onto, options.upstream, options.restrict_revision,
 		    &options.orig_head, &merge_base) &&
-	    !is_interactive(&options)) {
+	    allow_preemptive_ff) {
 		int flag;
 
 		if (!(options.flags & REBASE_FORCE)) {
@@ -2133,7 +2234,7 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		diff_flush(&opts);
 	}
 
-	if (is_interactive(&options))
+	if (is_merge(&options))
 		goto run_rebase;
 
 	/* Detach HEAD and reset the tree */
diff --git a/contrib/completion/git-prompt.sh b/contrib/completion/git-prompt.sh
index 1d510cd47b..014cd7c3cf 100644
--- a/contrib/completion/git-prompt.sh
+++ b/contrib/completion/git-prompt.sh
@@ -429,11 +429,7 @@ __git_ps1 ()
 		__git_eread "$g/rebase-merge/head-name" b
 		__git_eread "$g/rebase-merge/msgnum" step
 		__git_eread "$g/rebase-merge/end" total
-		if [ -f "$g/rebase-merge/interactive" ]; then
-			r="|REBASE-i"
-		else
-			r="|REBASE-m"
-		fi
+		r="|REBASE"
 	else
 		if [ -d "$g/rebase-apply" ]; then
 			__git_eread "$g/rebase-apply/next" step
diff --git a/rebase-interactive.c b/rebase-interactive.c
index ac001dea58..d86b434b3d 100644
--- a/rebase-interactive.c
+++ b/rebase-interactive.c
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ static enum missing_commit_check_level get_missing_commit_check_level(void)
 	return MISSING_COMMIT_CHECK_IGNORE;
 }
 
-void append_todo_help(unsigned keep_empty, int command_count,
+void append_todo_help(int command_count,
 		      const char *shortrevisions, const char *shortonto,
 		      struct strbuf *buf)
 {
@@ -87,11 +87,6 @@ void append_todo_help(unsigned keep_empty, int command_count,
 			"the rebase will be aborted.\n\n");
 
 	strbuf_add_commented_lines(buf, msg, strlen(msg));
-
-	if (!keep_empty) {
-		msg = _("Note that empty commits are commented out");
-		strbuf_add_commented_lines(buf, msg, strlen(msg));
-	}
 }
 
 int edit_todo_list(struct repository *r, struct todo_list *todo_list,
diff --git a/rebase-interactive.h b/rebase-interactive.h
index 4af0c1fcc7..dc2cf0ee12 100644
--- a/rebase-interactive.h
+++ b/rebase-interactive.h
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ struct strbuf;
 struct repository;
 struct todo_list;
 
-void append_todo_help(unsigned keep_empty, int command_count,
+void append_todo_help(int command_count,
 		      const char *shortrevisions, const char *shortonto,
 		      struct strbuf *buf);
 int edit_todo_list(struct repository *r, struct todo_list *todo_list,
diff --git a/sequencer.c b/sequencer.c
index ba90a513b9..7477b15422 100644
--- a/sequencer.c
+++ b/sequencer.c
@@ -160,6 +160,8 @@ static GIT_PATH_FUNC(rebase_path_strategy, "rebase-merge/strategy")
 static GIT_PATH_FUNC(rebase_path_strategy_opts, "rebase-merge/strategy_opts")
 static GIT_PATH_FUNC(rebase_path_allow_rerere_autoupdate, "rebase-merge/allow_rerere_autoupdate")
 static GIT_PATH_FUNC(rebase_path_reschedule_failed_exec, "rebase-merge/reschedule-failed-exec")
+static GIT_PATH_FUNC(rebase_path_drop_redundant_commits, "rebase-merge/drop_redundant_commits")
+static GIT_PATH_FUNC(rebase_path_keep_redundant_commits, "rebase-merge/keep_redundant_commits")
 
 static int git_sequencer_config(const char *k, const char *v, void *cb)
 {
@@ -290,7 +292,7 @@ int sequencer_remove_state(struct replay_opts *opts)
 			char *eol = strchr(p, '\n');
 			if (eol)
 				*eol = '\0';
-			if (delete_ref("(rebase -i) cleanup", p, NULL, 0) < 0) {
+			if (delete_ref("(rebase) cleanup", p, NULL, 0) < 0) {
 				warning(_("could not delete '%s'"), p);
 				ret = -1;
 			}
@@ -324,7 +326,7 @@ static const char *action_name(const struct replay_opts *opts)
 	case REPLAY_PICK:
 		return N_("cherry-pick");
 	case REPLAY_INTERACTIVE_REBASE:
-		return N_("rebase -i");
+		return N_("rebase");
 	}
 	die(_("unknown action: %d"), opts->action);
 }
@@ -628,7 +630,7 @@ static int do_recursive_merge(struct repository *r,
 			       COMMIT_LOCK | SKIP_IF_UNCHANGED))
 		/*
 		 * TRANSLATORS: %s will be "revert", "cherry-pick" or
-		 * "rebase -i".
+		 * "rebase".
 		 */
 		return error(_("%s: Unable to write new index file"),
 			_(action_name(opts)));
@@ -1485,23 +1487,30 @@ static int is_original_commit_empty(struct commit *commit)
 }
 
 /*
- * Do we run "git commit" with "--allow-empty"?
+ * Should empty commits be allowed?  Return status:
+ *    <0: Error in is_index_unchanged(r) or is_original_commit_empty(commit)
+ *     0: Halt on empty commit
+ *     1: Allow empty commit
+ *     2: Drop empty commit
  */
 static int allow_empty(struct repository *r,
 		       struct replay_opts *opts,
 		       struct commit *commit)
 {
-	int index_unchanged, empty_commit;
+	int index_unchanged, originally_empty;
 
 	/*
-	 * Three cases:
+	 * Four cases:
 	 *
 	 * (1) we do not allow empty at all and error out.
 	 *
-	 * (2) we allow ones that were initially empty, but
-	 * forbid the ones that become empty;
+	 * (2) we allow ones that were initially empty, and
+	 *     just drop the ones that become empty
 	 *
-	 * (3) we allow both.
+	 * (3) we allow ones that were initially empty, but
+	 *     halt for the ones that become empty;
+	 *
+	 * (4) we allow both.
 	 */
 	if (!opts->allow_empty)
 		return 0; /* let "git commit" barf as necessary */
@@ -1515,13 +1524,15 @@ static int allow_empty(struct repository *r,
 	if (opts->keep_redundant_commits)
 		return 1;
 
-	empty_commit = is_original_commit_empty(commit);
-	if (empty_commit < 0)
-		return empty_commit;
-	if (!empty_commit)
-		return 0;
-	else
+	originally_empty = is_original_commit_empty(commit);
+	if (originally_empty < 0)
+		return originally_empty;
+	if (originally_empty)
 		return 1;
+	else if (opts->drop_redundant_commits)
+		return 2;
+	else
+		return 0;
 }
 
 static struct {
@@ -1732,7 +1743,7 @@ static int do_pick_commit(struct repository *r,
 	char *author = NULL;
 	struct commit_message msg = { NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL };
 	struct strbuf msgbuf = STRBUF_INIT;
-	int res, unborn = 0, reword = 0, allow;
+	int res, unborn = 0, reword = 0, allow, drop_commit;
 
 	if (opts->no_commit) {
 		/*
@@ -1937,13 +1948,20 @@ static int do_pick_commit(struct repository *r,
 		goto leave;
 	}
 
+	drop_commit = 0;
 	allow = allow_empty(r, opts, commit);
 	if (allow < 0) {
 		res = allow;
 		goto leave;
-	} else if (allow)
+	} else if (allow == 1) {
 		flags |= ALLOW_EMPTY;
-	if (!opts->no_commit) {
+	} else if (allow == 2) {
+		drop_commit = 1;
+		fprintf(stderr,
+			_("dropping %s %s -- patch contents already upstream\n"),
+			oid_to_hex(&commit->object.oid), msg.subject);
+	} /* else allow == 0 and there's nothing special to do */
+	if (!opts->no_commit && !drop_commit) {
 		if (author || command == TODO_REVERT || (flags & AMEND_MSG))
 			res = do_commit(r, msg_file, author, opts, flags);
 		else
@@ -2498,6 +2516,12 @@ static int read_populate_opts(struct replay_opts *opts)
 		if (file_exists(rebase_path_reschedule_failed_exec()))
 			opts->reschedule_failed_exec = 1;
 
+		if (file_exists(rebase_path_drop_redundant_commits()))
+			opts->drop_redundant_commits = 1;
+
+		if (file_exists(rebase_path_keep_redundant_commits()))
+			opts->keep_redundant_commits = 1;
+
 		read_strategy_opts(opts, &buf);
 		strbuf_release(&buf);
 
@@ -2549,8 +2573,6 @@ static void write_strategy_opts(struct replay_opts *opts)
 int write_basic_state(struct replay_opts *opts, const char *head_name,
 		      struct commit *onto, const char *orig_head)
 {
-	const char *quiet = getenv("GIT_QUIET");
-
 	if (head_name)
 		write_file(rebase_path_head_name(), "%s\n", head_name);
 	if (onto)
@@ -2559,8 +2581,8 @@ int write_basic_state(struct replay_opts *opts, const char *head_name,
 	if (orig_head)
 		write_file(rebase_path_orig_head(), "%s\n", orig_head);
 
-	if (quiet)
-		write_file(rebase_path_quiet(), "%s\n", quiet);
+	if (opts->quiet)
+		write_file(rebase_path_quiet(), "%s", "");
 	if (opts->verbose)
 		write_file(rebase_path_verbose(), "%s", "");
 	if (opts->strategy)
@@ -2577,6 +2599,10 @@ int write_basic_state(struct replay_opts *opts, const char *head_name,
 		write_file(rebase_path_gpg_sign_opt(), "-S%s\n", opts->gpg_sign);
 	if (opts->signoff)
 		write_file(rebase_path_signoff(), "--signoff\n");
+	if (opts->drop_redundant_commits)
+		write_file(rebase_path_drop_redundant_commits(), "%s", "");
+	if (opts->keep_redundant_commits)
+		write_file(rebase_path_keep_redundant_commits(), "%s", "");
 	if (opts->reschedule_failed_exec)
 		write_file(rebase_path_reschedule_failed_exec(), "%s", "");
 
@@ -3176,7 +3202,7 @@ static int do_label(struct repository *r, const char *name, int len)
 		return error(_("illegal label name: '%.*s'"), len, name);
 
 	strbuf_addf(&ref_name, "refs/rewritten/%.*s", len, name);
-	strbuf_addf(&msg, "rebase -i (label) '%.*s'", len, name);
+	strbuf_addf(&msg, "rebase (label) '%.*s'", len, name);
 
 	transaction = ref_store_transaction_begin(refs, &err);
 	if (!transaction) {
@@ -4563,7 +4589,6 @@ static int make_script_with_merges(struct pretty_print_context *pp,
 				   struct rev_info *revs, struct strbuf *out,
 				   unsigned flags)
 {
-	int keep_empty = flags & TODO_LIST_KEEP_EMPTY;
 	int rebase_cousins = flags & TODO_LIST_REBASE_COUSINS;
 	int root_with_onto = flags & TODO_LIST_ROOT_WITH_ONTO;
 	struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT, oneline = STRBUF_INIT;
@@ -4626,8 +4651,6 @@ static int make_script_with_merges(struct pretty_print_context *pp,
 		if (!to_merge) {
 			/* non-merge commit: easy case */
 			strbuf_reset(&buf);
-			if (!keep_empty && is_empty)
-				strbuf_addf(&buf, "%c ", comment_line_char);
 			strbuf_addf(&buf, "%s %s %s", cmd_pick,
 				    oid_to_hex(&commit->object.oid),
 				    oneline.buf);
@@ -4794,7 +4817,6 @@ int sequencer_make_script(struct repository *r, struct strbuf *out, int argc,
 	struct pretty_print_context pp = {0};
 	struct rev_info revs;
 	struct commit *commit;
-	int keep_empty = flags & TODO_LIST_KEEP_EMPTY;
 	const char *insn = flags & TODO_LIST_ABBREVIATE_CMDS ? "p" : "pick";
 	int rebase_merges = flags & TODO_LIST_REBASE_MERGES;
 
@@ -4830,12 +4852,10 @@ int sequencer_make_script(struct repository *r, struct strbuf *out, int argc,
 		return make_script_with_merges(&pp, &revs, out, flags);
 
 	while ((commit = get_revision(&revs))) {
-		int is_empty  = is_original_commit_empty(commit);
+		int is_empty = is_original_commit_empty(commit);
 
 		if (!is_empty && (commit->object.flags & PATCHSAME))
 			continue;
-		if (!keep_empty && is_empty)
-			strbuf_addf(out, "%c ", comment_line_char);
 		strbuf_addf(out, "%s %s ", insn,
 			    oid_to_hex(&commit->object.oid));
 		pretty_print_commit(&pp, commit, out);
@@ -4972,7 +4992,7 @@ int todo_list_write_to_file(struct repository *r, struct todo_list *todo_list,
 
 	todo_list_to_strbuf(r, todo_list, &buf, num, flags);
 	if (flags & TODO_LIST_APPEND_TODO_HELP)
-		append_todo_help(flags & TODO_LIST_KEEP_EMPTY, count_commands(todo_list),
+		append_todo_help(count_commands(todo_list),
 				 shortrevisions, shortonto, &buf);
 
 	res = write_message(buf.buf, buf.len, file, 0);
diff --git a/sequencer.h b/sequencer.h
index 393571e89a..718a07426d 100644
--- a/sequencer.h
+++ b/sequencer.h
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ struct replay_opts {
 	int allow_rerere_auto;
 	int allow_empty;
 	int allow_empty_message;
+	int drop_redundant_commits;
 	int keep_redundant_commits;
 	int verbose;
 	int quiet;
@@ -133,7 +134,7 @@ int sequencer_rollback(struct repository *repo, struct replay_opts *opts);
 int sequencer_skip(struct repository *repo, struct replay_opts *opts);
 int sequencer_remove_state(struct replay_opts *opts);
 
-#define TODO_LIST_KEEP_EMPTY (1U << 0)
+/* #define TODO_LIST_KEEP_EMPTY (1U << 0) */ /* No longer used */
 #define TODO_LIST_SHORTEN_IDS (1U << 1)
 #define TODO_LIST_ABBREVIATE_CMDS (1U << 2)
 #define TODO_LIST_REBASE_MERGES (1U << 3)
diff --git a/t/t3400-rebase.sh b/t/t3400-rebase.sh
index 221b35f2df..7c7e085043 100755
--- a/t/t3400-rebase.sh
+++ b/t/t3400-rebase.sh
@@ -165,19 +165,37 @@ test_expect_success 'rebase works with format.useAutoBase' '
 	git rebase master
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'default to common base in @{upstream}s reflog if no upstream arg' '
+test_expect_success 'default to common base in @{upstream}s reflog if no upstream arg (--merge)' '
 	git checkout -b default-base master &&
 	git checkout -b default topic &&
 	git config branch.default.remote . &&
 	git config branch.default.merge refs/heads/default-base &&
-	git rebase &&
+	git rebase --merge &&
 	git rev-parse --verify default-base >expect &&
 	git rev-parse default~1 >actual &&
 	test_cmp expect actual &&
 	git checkout default-base &&
 	git reset --hard HEAD^ &&
 	git checkout default &&
-	git rebase &&
+	git rebase --merge &&
+	git rev-parse --verify default-base >expect &&
+	git rev-parse default~1 >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'default to common base in @{upstream}s reflog if no upstream arg (--apply)' '
+	git checkout -B default-base master &&
+	git checkout -B default topic &&
+	git config branch.default.remote . &&
+	git config branch.default.merge refs/heads/default-base &&
+	git rebase --apply &&
+	git rev-parse --verify default-base >expect &&
+	git rev-parse default~1 >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual &&
+	git checkout default-base &&
+	git reset --hard HEAD^ &&
+	git checkout default &&
+	git rebase --apply &&
 	git rev-parse --verify default-base >expect &&
 	git rev-parse default~1 >actual &&
 	test_cmp expect actual
@@ -206,9 +224,15 @@ test_expect_success 'cherry-picked commits and fork-point work together' '
 	test_cmp expect D
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'rebase -q is quiet' '
+test_expect_success 'rebase --apply -q is quiet' '
 	git checkout -b quiet topic &&
-	git rebase -q master >output.out 2>&1 &&
+	git rebase --apply -q master >output.out 2>&1 &&
+	test_must_be_empty output.out
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'rebase --merge -q is quiet' '
+	git checkout -B quiet topic &&
+	git rebase --merge -q master >output.out 2>&1 &&
 	test_must_be_empty output.out
 '
 
@@ -291,7 +315,7 @@ EOF
 	test_cmp From_.msg out
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'rebase --am and --show-current-patch' '
+test_expect_success 'rebase --apply and --show-current-patch' '
 	test_create_repo conflict-apply &&
 	(
 		cd conflict-apply &&
@@ -301,13 +325,13 @@ test_expect_success 'rebase --am and --show-current-patch' '
 		echo two >>init.t &&
 		git commit -a -m two &&
 		git tag two &&
-		test_must_fail git rebase -f --onto init HEAD^ &&
+		test_must_fail git rebase --apply -f --onto init HEAD^ &&
 		GIT_TRACE=1 git rebase --show-current-patch >/dev/null 2>stderr &&
 		grep "show.*$(git rev-parse two)" stderr
 	)
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'rebase --am and .gitattributes' '
+test_expect_success 'rebase --apply and .gitattributes' '
 	test_create_repo attributes &&
 	(
 		cd attributes &&
diff --git a/t/t3401-rebase-and-am-rename.sh b/t/t3401-rebase-and-am-rename.sh
index a0b9438b22..f18bae9450 100755
--- a/t/t3401-rebase-and-am-rename.sh
+++ b/t/t3401-rebase-and-am-rename.sh
@@ -52,13 +52,13 @@ test_expect_success 'rebase --interactive: directory rename detected' '
 	)
 '
 
-test_expect_failure 'rebase (am): directory rename detected' '
+test_expect_failure 'rebase --apply: directory rename detected' '
 	(
 		cd dir-rename &&
 
 		git checkout B^0 &&
 
-		git -c merge.directoryRenames=true rebase A &&
+		git -c merge.directoryRenames=true rebase --apply A &&
 
 		git ls-files -s >out &&
 		test_line_count = 5 out &&
diff --git a/t/t3404-rebase-interactive.sh b/t/t3404-rebase-interactive.sh
index d79a3ef505..c5ce3ab760 100755
--- a/t/t3404-rebase-interactive.sh
+++ b/t/t3404-rebase-interactive.sh
@@ -72,15 +72,16 @@ test_expect_success 'rebase --keep-empty' '
 	test_line_count = 6 actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'rebase -i with empty HEAD' '
+test_expect_success 'rebase -i with empty todo list' '
 	cat >expect <<-\EOF &&
 	error: nothing to do
 	EOF
 	(
 		set_fake_editor &&
-		test_must_fail env FAKE_LINES="1 exec_true" \
-			git rebase -i HEAD^ >actual 2>&1
+		test_must_fail env FAKE_LINES="#" \
+			git rebase -i HEAD^ >output 2>&1
 	) &&
+	tail -n 1 output >actual &&  # Ignore output about changing todo list
 	test_i18ncmp expect actual
 '
 
@@ -222,7 +223,7 @@ test_expect_success 'reflog for the branch shows state before rebase' '
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'reflog for the branch shows correct finish message' '
-	printf "rebase -i (finish): refs/heads/branch1 onto %s\n" \
+	printf "rebase (finish): refs/heads/branch1 onto %s\n" \
 		"$(git rev-parse branch2)" >expected &&
 	git log -g --pretty=%gs -1 refs/heads/branch1 >actual &&
 	test_cmp expected actual
@@ -1137,7 +1138,7 @@ test_expect_success C_LOCALE_OUTPUT 'rebase --edit-todo does not work on non-int
 	git checkout conflict-branch &&
 	(
 		set_fake_editor &&
-		test_must_fail git rebase -f --onto HEAD~2 HEAD~ &&
+		test_must_fail git rebase -f --apply --onto HEAD~2 HEAD~ &&
 		test_must_fail git rebase --edit-todo
 	) &&
 	git rebase --abort
@@ -1161,10 +1162,10 @@ test_expect_success 'rebase -i produces readable reflog' '
 	git branch -f branch-reflog-test H &&
 	git rebase -i --onto I F branch-reflog-test &&
 	cat >expect <<-\EOF &&
-	rebase -i (finish): returning to refs/heads/branch-reflog-test
-	rebase -i (pick): H
-	rebase -i (pick): G
-	rebase -i (start): checkout I
+	rebase (finish): returning to refs/heads/branch-reflog-test
+	rebase (pick): H
+	rebase (pick): G
+	rebase (start): checkout I
 	EOF
 	git reflog -n4 HEAD |
 	sed "s/[^:]*: //" >actual &&
diff --git a/t/t3406-rebase-message.sh b/t/t3406-rebase-message.sh
index b393e1e9fe..61b76f3301 100755
--- a/t/t3406-rebase-message.sh
+++ b/t/t3406-rebase-message.sh
@@ -18,32 +18,29 @@ test_expect_success 'setup' '
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'rebase -m' '
-	git rebase -m master >report &&
-	>expect &&
-	sed -n -e "/^Already applied: /p" \
-		-e "/^Committed: /p" report >actual &&
-	test_cmp expect actual
+	git rebase -m master >actual &&
+	test_must_be_empty actual
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'rebase against master twice' '
-	git rebase master >out &&
+	git rebase --apply master >out &&
 	test_i18ngrep "Current branch topic is up to date" out
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'rebase against master twice with --force' '
-	git rebase --force-rebase master >out &&
+	git rebase --force-rebase --apply master >out &&
 	test_i18ngrep "Current branch topic is up to date, rebase forced" out
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'rebase against master twice from another branch' '
 	git checkout topic^ &&
-	git rebase master topic >out &&
+	git rebase --apply master topic >out &&
 	test_i18ngrep "Current branch topic is up to date" out
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'rebase fast-forward to master' '
 	git checkout topic^ &&
-	git rebase topic >out &&
+	git rebase --apply topic >out &&
 	test_i18ngrep "Fast-forwarded HEAD to topic" out
 '
 
@@ -92,7 +89,7 @@ test_expect_success 'GIT_REFLOG_ACTION' '
 	git checkout -b reflog-topic start &&
 	test_commit reflog-to-rebase &&
 
-	git rebase reflog-onto &&
+	git rebase --apply reflog-onto &&
 	git log -g --format=%gs -3 >actual &&
 	cat >expect <<-\EOF &&
 	rebase finished: returning to refs/heads/reflog-topic
@@ -102,7 +99,7 @@ test_expect_success 'GIT_REFLOG_ACTION' '
 	test_cmp expect actual &&
 
 	git checkout -b reflog-prefix reflog-to-rebase &&
-	GIT_REFLOG_ACTION=change-the-reflog git rebase reflog-onto &&
+	GIT_REFLOG_ACTION=change-the-reflog git rebase --apply reflog-onto &&
 	git log -g --format=%gs -3 >actual &&
 	cat >expect <<-\EOF &&
 	rebase finished: returning to refs/heads/reflog-prefix
diff --git a/t/t3407-rebase-abort.sh b/t/t3407-rebase-abort.sh
index 910f218284..97efea0f56 100755
--- a/t/t3407-rebase-abort.sh
+++ b/t/t3407-rebase-abort.sh
@@ -96,14 +96,14 @@ testrebase() {
 	'
 }
 
-testrebase "" .git/rebase-apply
+testrebase " --apply" .git/rebase-apply
 testrebase " --merge" .git/rebase-merge
 
-test_expect_success 'rebase --quit' '
+test_expect_success 'rebase --apply --quit' '
 	cd "$work_dir" &&
 	# Clean up the state from the previous one
 	git reset --hard pre-rebase &&
-	test_must_fail git rebase master &&
+	test_must_fail git rebase --apply master &&
 	test_path_is_dir .git/rebase-apply &&
 	head_before=$(git rev-parse HEAD) &&
 	git rebase --quit &&
diff --git a/t/t3420-rebase-autostash.sh b/t/t3420-rebase-autostash.sh
index 5f7e73cf83..b97ea62363 100755
--- a/t/t3420-rebase-autostash.sh
+++ b/t/t3420-rebase-autostash.sh
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ test_expect_success setup '
 	remove_progress_re="$(printf "s/.*\\r//")"
 '
 
-create_expected_success_am () {
+create_expected_success_apply () {
 	cat >expected <<-EOF
 	$(grep "^Created autostash: [0-9a-f][0-9a-f]*\$" actual)
 	First, rewinding head to replay your work on top of it...
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ create_expected_success_am () {
 	EOF
 }
 
-create_expected_success_interactive () {
+create_expected_success_merge () {
 	q_to_cr >expected <<-EOF
 	$(grep "^Created autostash: [0-9a-f][0-9a-f]*\$" actual)
 	Applied autostash.
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ create_expected_success_interactive () {
 	EOF
 }
 
-create_expected_failure_am () {
+create_expected_failure_apply () {
 	cat >expected <<-EOF
 	$(grep "^Created autostash: [0-9a-f][0-9a-f]*\$" actual)
 	First, rewinding head to replay your work on top of it...
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ create_expected_failure_am () {
 	EOF
 }
 
-create_expected_failure_interactive () {
+create_expected_failure_merge () {
 	cat >expected <<-EOF
 	$(grep "^Created autostash: [0-9a-f][0-9a-f]*\$" actual)
 	Applying autostash resulted in conflicts.
@@ -101,9 +101,9 @@ testrebase () {
 
 	test_expect_success "rebase$type --autostash: check output" '
 		test_when_finished git branch -D rebased-feature-branch &&
-		suffix=${type#\ --} && suffix=${suffix:-am} &&
-		if test ${suffix} = "merge"; then
-			suffix=interactive
+		suffix=${type#\ --} && suffix=${suffix:-apply} &&
+		if test ${suffix} = "interactive"; then
+			suffix=merge
 		fi &&
 		create_expected_success_$suffix &&
 		sed "$remove_progress_re" <actual >actual2 &&
@@ -202,9 +202,9 @@ testrebase () {
 
 	test_expect_success "rebase$type: check output with conflicting stash" '
 		test_when_finished git branch -D rebased-feature-branch &&
-		suffix=${type#\ --} && suffix=${suffix:-am} &&
-		if test ${suffix} = "merge"; then
-			suffix=interactive
+		suffix=${type#\ --} && suffix=${suffix:-apply} &&
+		if test ${suffix} = "interactive"; then
+			suffix=merge
 		fi &&
 		create_expected_failure_$suffix &&
 		sed "$remove_progress_re" <actual >actual2 &&
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ test_expect_success "rebase: noop rebase" '
 	git checkout feature-branch
 '
 
-testrebase "" .git/rebase-apply
+testrebase " --apply" .git/rebase-apply
 testrebase " --merge" .git/rebase-merge
 testrebase " --interactive" .git/rebase-merge
 
diff --git a/t/t3421-rebase-topology-linear.sh b/t/t3421-rebase-topology-linear.sh
index 325072b0a3..cf8dfd6c20 100755
--- a/t/t3421-rebase-topology-linear.sh
+++ b/t/t3421-rebase-topology-linear.sh
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ test_run_rebase () {
 		test_linear_range 'd e' c..
 	"
 }
-test_run_rebase success ''
+test_run_rebase success --apply
 test_run_rebase success -m
 test_run_rebase success -i
 test_have_prereq !REBASE_P || test_run_rebase success -p
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ test_run_rebase () {
 		test_cmp_rev e HEAD
 	"
 }
-test_run_rebase success ''
+test_run_rebase success --apply
 test_run_rebase success -m
 test_run_rebase success -i
 test_have_prereq !REBASE_P || test_run_rebase success -p
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ test_run_rebase () {
 		test_linear_range 'd e' b..
 	"
 }
-test_run_rebase success ''
+test_run_rebase success --apply
 test_run_rebase success --fork-point
 test_run_rebase success -m
 test_run_rebase success -i
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ test_run_rebase () {
 		test_linear_range 'd e' branch-b..
 	"
 }
-test_run_rebase success ''
+test_run_rebase success --apply
 test_run_rebase success --fork-point
 test_run_rebase success -m
 test_run_rebase success -i
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ test_run_rebase () {
 		test_cmp_rev e HEAD
 	"
 }
-test_run_rebase success ''
+test_run_rebase success --apply
 test_run_rebase success --fork-point
 test_run_rebase success -m
 test_run_rebase success -i
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ test_run_rebase () {
 		test_linear_range 'd i' h..
 	"
 }
-test_run_rebase success ''
+test_run_rebase success --apply
 test_run_rebase success -m
 test_run_rebase success -i
 test_have_prereq !REBASE_P || test_run_rebase success -p
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ test_run_rebase () {
 		test_linear_range 'd' h..
 	"
 }
-test_run_rebase success ''
+test_run_rebase success --apply
 test_run_rebase success -m
 test_run_rebase success -i
 test_have_prereq !REBASE_P || test_run_rebase success -p
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ test_run_rebase () {
 		test_linear_range 'd i' f..
 	"
 }
-test_run_rebase success ''
+test_run_rebase success --apply
 test_run_rebase success -m
 test_run_rebase success -i
 test_have_prereq !REBASE_P || test_run_rebase success -p
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ test_run_rebase () {
 		test_linear_range 'd gp i' h..
 	"
 }
-test_run_rebase success ''
+test_run_rebase success --apply
 test_run_rebase success -m
 test_run_rebase success -i
 test_have_prereq !REBASE_P || test_run_rebase success -p
@@ -205,17 +205,17 @@ test_expect_success 'setup of linear history for empty commit tests' '
 test_run_rebase () {
 	result=$1
 	shift
-	test_expect_$result "rebase $* drops empty commit" "
+	test_expect_$result "rebase $* keeps begin-empty commits" "
 		reset_rebase &&
-		git rebase $* c l &&
-		test_cmp_rev c HEAD~2 &&
-		test_linear_range 'd l' c..
+		git rebase $* j l &&
+		test_cmp_rev c HEAD~4 &&
+		test_linear_range 'j d k l' c..
 	"
 }
-test_run_rebase success ''
+test_run_rebase failure --apply
 test_run_rebase success -m
 test_run_rebase success -i
-test_have_prereq !REBASE_P || test_run_rebase success -p
+test_have_prereq !REBASE_P || test_run_rebase failure -p
 
 test_run_rebase () {
 	result=$1
@@ -227,10 +227,10 @@ test_run_rebase () {
 		test_linear_range 'd k l' c..
 	"
 }
-test_run_rebase success ''
+test_run_rebase success --apply
 test_run_rebase success -m
 test_run_rebase success -i
-test_have_prereq !REBASE_P || test_run_rebase failure -p
+test_have_prereq !REBASE_P || test_run_rebase success -p
 
 test_run_rebase () {
 	result=$1
@@ -242,10 +242,10 @@ test_run_rebase () {
 		test_linear_range 'd k l' j..
 	"
 }
-test_run_rebase success ''
+test_run_rebase success --apply
 test_run_rebase success -m
 test_run_rebase success -i
-test_have_prereq !REBASE_P || test_run_rebase failure -p
+test_have_prereq !REBASE_P || test_run_rebase success -p
 test_run_rebase success --rebase-merges
 
 #       m
@@ -282,7 +282,7 @@ test_run_rebase () {
 		test_linear_range 'x y' c..
 	"
 }
-test_run_rebase success ''
+test_run_rebase success --apply
 test_run_rebase success -m
 test_run_rebase success -i
 test_have_prereq !REBASE_P || test_run_rebase success -p
@@ -297,7 +297,7 @@ test_run_rebase () {
 		test_linear_range 'x y' c..
 	"
 }
-test_run_rebase success ''
+test_run_rebase success --apply
 test_run_rebase success -m
 test_run_rebase success -i
 test_have_prereq !REBASE_P || test_run_rebase failure -p
@@ -312,7 +312,7 @@ test_run_rebase () {
 		test_linear_range 'x y' m..
 	"
 }
-test_run_rebase success ''
+test_run_rebase success --apply
 test_run_rebase success -m
 test_run_rebase success -i
 test_have_prereq !REBASE_P || test_run_rebase success -p
@@ -328,7 +328,7 @@ test_run_rebase () {
 	"
 }
 
-test_run_rebase success ''
+test_run_rebase success --apply
 test_run_rebase success -m
 test_run_rebase success -i
 test_have_prereq !REBASE_P || test_run_rebase failure -p
@@ -343,7 +343,7 @@ test_run_rebase () {
 		test_linear_range 'x y' m..
 	"
 }
-test_run_rebase success ''
+test_run_rebase success --apply
 test_run_rebase success -m
 test_run_rebase success -i
 test_have_prereq !REBASE_P || test_run_rebase failure -p
diff --git a/t/t3424-rebase-empty.sh b/t/t3424-rebase-empty.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..98fc2a558a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/t/t3424-rebase-empty.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+test_description='git rebase of commits that start or become empty'
+
+. ./test-lib.sh
+
+test_expect_success 'setup test repository' '
+	test_write_lines 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >numbers &&
+	test_write_lines A B C D E F G H I J >letters &&
+	git add numbers letters &&
+	git commit -m A &&
+
+	git branch upstream &&
+	git branch localmods &&
+
+	git checkout upstream &&
+	test_write_lines A B C D E >letters &&
+	git add letters &&
+	git commit -m B &&
+
+	test_write_lines 1 2 3 4 five 6 7 8 9 ten >numbers &&
+	git add numbers &&
+	git commit -m C &&
+
+	git checkout localmods &&
+	test_write_lines 1 2 3 4 five 6 7 8 9 10 >numbers &&
+	git add numbers &&
+	git commit -m C2 &&
+
+	git commit --allow-empty -m D &&
+
+	test_write_lines A B C D E >letters &&
+	git add letters &&
+	git commit -m "Five letters ought to be enough for anybody"
+'
+
+test_expect_failure 'rebase (apply-backend)' '
+	test_when_finished "git rebase --abort" &&
+	git checkout -B testing localmods &&
+	# rebase (--apply) should not drop commits that start empty
+	git rebase --apply upstream &&
+
+	test_write_lines D C B A >expect &&
+	git log --format=%s >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'rebase --merge --empty=drop' '
+	git checkout -B testing localmods &&
+	git rebase --merge --empty=drop upstream &&
+
+	test_write_lines D C B A >expect &&
+	git log --format=%s >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'rebase --merge uses default of --empty=drop' '
+	git checkout -B testing localmods &&
+	git rebase --merge upstream &&
+
+	test_write_lines D C B A >expect &&
+	git log --format=%s >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'rebase --merge --empty=keep' '
+	git checkout -B testing localmods &&
+	git rebase --merge --empty=keep upstream &&
+
+	test_write_lines D C2 C B A >expect &&
+	git log --format=%s >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'rebase --merge --empty=ask' '
+	git checkout -B testing localmods &&
+	test_must_fail git rebase --merge --empty=ask upstream &&
+
+	git rebase --skip &&
+
+	test_write_lines D C B A >expect &&
+	git log --format=%s >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'rebase --interactive --empty=drop' '
+	git checkout -B testing localmods &&
+	git rebase --interactive --empty=drop upstream &&
+
+	test_write_lines D C B A >expect &&
+	git log --format=%s >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'rebase --interactive --empty=keep' '
+	git checkout -B testing localmods &&
+	git rebase --interactive --empty=keep upstream &&
+
+	test_write_lines D C2 C B A >expect &&
+	git log --format=%s >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'rebase --interactive --empty=ask' '
+	git checkout -B testing localmods &&
+	test_must_fail git rebase --interactive --empty=ask upstream &&
+
+	git rebase --skip &&
+
+	test_write_lines D C B A >expect &&
+	git log --format=%s >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'rebase --interactive uses default of --empty=ask' '
+	git checkout -B testing localmods &&
+	test_must_fail git rebase --interactive upstream &&
+
+	git rebase --skip &&
+
+	test_write_lines D C B A >expect &&
+	git log --format=%s >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+'
+
+test_done
diff --git a/t/t3425-rebase-topology-merges.sh b/t/t3425-rebase-topology-merges.sh
index fd8efe84fe..e42faa44e7 100755
--- a/t/t3425-rebase-topology-merges.sh
+++ b/t/t3425-rebase-topology-merges.sh
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ test_run_rebase () {
 		test_linear_range 'n o' e..
 	"
 }
-test_run_rebase success ''
+test_run_rebase success --apply
 test_run_rebase success -m
 test_run_rebase success -i
 
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ test_run_rebase () {
 		test_linear_range "\'"$expected"\'" d..
 	"
 }
-test_run_rebase success 'n o e' ''
+test_run_rebase success 'n o e' --apply
 test_run_rebase success 'n o e' -m
 test_run_rebase success 'n o e' -i
 
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ test_run_rebase () {
 		test_linear_range "\'"$expected"\'" c..
 	"
 }
-test_run_rebase success 'd n o e' ''
+test_run_rebase success 'd n o e' --apply
 test_run_rebase success 'd n o e' -m
 test_run_rebase success 'd n o e' -i
 
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ test_run_rebase () {
 		test_linear_range "\'"$expected"\'" c..
 	"
 }
-test_run_rebase success 'd n o e' ''
+test_run_rebase success 'd n o e' --apply
 test_run_rebase success 'd n o e' -m
 test_run_rebase success 'd n o e' -i
 
diff --git a/t/t3427-rebase-subtree.sh b/t/t3427-rebase-subtree.sh
index bec48e6a1f..79e43a370b 100755
--- a/t/t3427-rebase-subtree.sh
+++ b/t/t3427-rebase-subtree.sh
@@ -85,23 +85,23 @@ test_expect_failure REBASE_P 'Rebase -Xsubtree --keep-empty --preserve-merges --
 	verbose test "$(commit_message HEAD)" = "Empty commit"
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'Rebase -Xsubtree --keep-empty --onto commit' '
+test_expect_success 'Rebase -Xsubtree --empty=ask --onto commit' '
 	reset_rebase &&
 	git checkout -b rebase-onto to-rebase &&
-	test_must_fail git rebase -Xsubtree=files_subtree --keep-empty --onto files-master master &&
+	test_must_fail git rebase -Xsubtree=files_subtree --empty=ask --onto files-master master &&
 	: first pick results in no changes &&
-	git rebase --continue &&
+	git rebase --skip &&
 	verbose test "$(commit_message HEAD~2)" = "master4" &&
 	verbose test "$(commit_message HEAD~)" = "files_subtree/master5" &&
 	verbose test "$(commit_message HEAD)" = "Empty commit"
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'Rebase -Xsubtree --keep-empty --rebase-merges --onto commit' '
+test_expect_success 'Rebase -Xsubtree --empty=ask --rebase-merges --onto commit' '
 	reset_rebase &&
 	git checkout -b rebase-merges-onto to-rebase &&
-	test_must_fail git rebase -Xsubtree=files_subtree --keep-empty --rebase-merges --onto files-master --root &&
+	test_must_fail git rebase -Xsubtree=files_subtree --empty=ask --rebase-merges --onto files-master --root &&
 	: first pick results in no changes &&
-	git rebase --continue &&
+	git rebase --skip &&
 	verbose test "$(commit_message HEAD~2)" = "master4" &&
 	verbose test "$(commit_message HEAD~)" = "files_subtree/master5" &&
 	verbose test "$(commit_message HEAD)" = "Empty commit"
diff --git a/t/t3432-rebase-fast-forward.sh b/t/t3432-rebase-fast-forward.sh
index 92f95b57da..6c9d4a1375 100755
--- a/t/t3432-rebase-fast-forward.sh
+++ b/t/t3432-rebase-fast-forward.sh
@@ -28,8 +28,10 @@ test_rebase_same_head () {
 	shift &&
 	cmp_f="$1" &&
 	shift &&
-	test_rebase_same_head_ $status_n $what_n $cmp_n "" "$*" &&
-	test_rebase_same_head_ $status_f $what_f $cmp_f " --no-ff" "$*"
+	test_rebase_same_head_ $status_n $what_n $cmp_n " --apply" "$*" &&
+	test_rebase_same_head_ $status_f $what_f $cmp_f " --apply --no-ff" "$*"
+	test_rebase_same_head_ $status_n $what_n $cmp_n " --merge" "$*" &&
+	test_rebase_same_head_ $status_f $what_f $cmp_f " --merge --no-ff" "$*"
 }
 
 test_rebase_same_head_ () {
@@ -44,19 +46,15 @@ test_rebase_same_head_ () {
 	test_expect_$status "git rebase$flag $* with $changes is $what with $cmp HEAD" "
 		oldhead=\$(git rev-parse HEAD) &&
 		test_when_finished 'git reset --hard \$oldhead' &&
+		cp .git/logs/HEAD expect &&
 		git rebase$flag $* >stdout &&
 		if test $what = work
 		then
-			# Must check this case first, for 'is up to
-			# date, rebase forced[...]rewinding head' cases
-			test_i18ngrep 'rewinding head' stdout
+			old=\$(wc -l <expect) &&
+			test_line_count '-gt' \$old .git/logs/HEAD
 		elif test $what = noop
 		then
-			test_i18ngrep 'is up to date' stdout &&
-			test_i18ngrep ! 'rebase forced' stdout
-		elif test $what = noop-force
-		then
-			test_i18ngrep 'is up to date, rebase forced' stdout
+			test_cmp expect .git/logs/HEAD
 		fi &&
 		newhead=\$(git rev-parse HEAD) &&
 		if test $cmp = same
@@ -71,14 +69,14 @@ test_rebase_same_head_ () {
 
 changes='no changes'
 test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work same
-test_rebase_same_head success noop same success noop-force same master
-test_rebase_same_head success noop same success noop-force diff --onto B B
-test_rebase_same_head success noop same success noop-force diff --onto B... B
-test_rebase_same_head success noop same success noop-force same --onto master... master
-test_rebase_same_head success noop same success noop-force same --keep-base master
-test_rebase_same_head success noop same success noop-force same --keep-base
-test_rebase_same_head success noop same success noop-force same --no-fork-point
-test_rebase_same_head success noop same success noop-force same --keep-base --no-fork-point
+test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work same master
+test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work diff --onto B B
+test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work diff --onto B... B
+test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work same --onto master... master
+test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work same --keep-base master
+test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work same --keep-base
+test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work same --no-fork-point
+test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work same --keep-base --no-fork-point
 test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work same --fork-point master
 test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work diff --fork-point --onto B B
 test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work diff --fork-point --onto B... B
@@ -91,14 +89,14 @@ test_expect_success 'add work same to side' '
 
 changes='our changes'
 test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work same
-test_rebase_same_head success noop same success noop-force same master
-test_rebase_same_head success noop same success noop-force diff --onto B B
-test_rebase_same_head success noop same success noop-force diff --onto B... B
-test_rebase_same_head success noop same success noop-force same --onto master... master
-test_rebase_same_head success noop same success noop-force same --keep-base master
-test_rebase_same_head success noop same success noop-force same --keep-base
-test_rebase_same_head success noop same success noop-force same --no-fork-point
-test_rebase_same_head success noop same success noop-force same --keep-base --no-fork-point
+test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work same master
+test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work diff --onto B B
+test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work diff --onto B... B
+test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work same --onto master... master
+test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work same --keep-base master
+test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work same --keep-base
+test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work same --no-fork-point
+test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work same --keep-base --no-fork-point
 test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work same --fork-point master
 test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work diff --fork-point --onto B B
 test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work diff --fork-point --onto B... B
@@ -112,8 +110,8 @@ test_expect_success 'add work same to upstream' '
 '
 
 changes='our and their changes'
-test_rebase_same_head success noop same success noop-force diff --onto B B
-test_rebase_same_head success noop same success noop-force diff --onto B... B
+test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work diff --onto B B
+test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work diff --onto B... B
 test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work diff --onto master... master
 test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work diff --keep-base master
 test_rebase_same_head success noop same success work diff --keep-base
diff --git a/t/t5407-post-rewrite-hook.sh b/t/t5407-post-rewrite-hook.sh
index 7344253bfb..80750a817e 100755
--- a/t/t5407-post-rewrite-hook.sh
+++ b/t/t5407-post-rewrite-hook.sh
@@ -53,10 +53,10 @@ test_expect_success 'git commit --amend --no-post-rewrite' '
 	test ! -f post-rewrite.data
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'git rebase' '
+test_expect_success 'git rebase --apply' '
 	git reset --hard D &&
 	clear_hook_input &&
-	test_must_fail git rebase --onto A B &&
+	test_must_fail git rebase --apply --onto A B &&
 	echo C > foo &&
 	git add foo &&
 	git rebase --continue &&
@@ -68,10 +68,10 @@ test_expect_success 'git rebase' '
 	verify_hook_input
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'git rebase --skip' '
+test_expect_success 'git rebase --apply --skip' '
 	git reset --hard D &&
 	clear_hook_input &&
-	test_must_fail git rebase --onto A B &&
+	test_must_fail git rebase --apply --onto A B &&
 	test_must_fail git rebase --skip &&
 	echo D > foo &&
 	git add foo &&
@@ -84,10 +84,10 @@ test_expect_success 'git rebase --skip' '
 	verify_hook_input
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'git rebase --skip the last one' '
+test_expect_success 'git rebase --apply --skip the last one' '
 	git reset --hard F &&
 	clear_hook_input &&
-	test_must_fail git rebase --onto D A &&
+	test_must_fail git rebase --apply --onto D A &&
 	git rebase --skip &&
 	echo rebase >expected.args &&
 	cat >expected.data <<-EOF &&
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ test_expect_success 'git rebase -m --skip' '
 	verify_hook_input
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'git rebase with implicit use of interactive backend' '
+test_expect_success 'git rebase with implicit use of merge backend' '
 	git reset --hard D &&
 	clear_hook_input &&
 	test_must_fail git rebase --keep-empty --onto A B &&
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ test_expect_success 'git rebase with implicit use of interactive backend' '
 	verify_hook_input
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'git rebase --skip with implicit use of interactive backend' '
+test_expect_success 'git rebase --skip with implicit use of merge backend' '
 	git reset --hard D &&
 	clear_hook_input &&
 	test_must_fail git rebase --keep-empty --onto A B &&
diff --git a/t/t5520-pull.sh b/t/t5520-pull.sh
index 602d996a33..2f86fca042 100755
--- a/t/t5520-pull.sh
+++ b/t/t5520-pull.sh
@@ -277,14 +277,27 @@ test_expect_success '--rebase' '
 	test_cmp expect actual
 '
 
-test_expect_success '--rebase fast forward' '
+test_expect_success '--rebase (merge) fast forward' '
 	git reset --hard before-rebase &&
 	git checkout -b ff &&
 	echo another modification >file &&
 	git commit -m third file &&
 
 	git checkout to-rebase &&
-	git pull --rebase . ff &&
+	git -c rebase.backend=merge pull --rebase . ff &&
+	test_cmp_rev HEAD ff &&
+
+	# The above only validates the result.  Did we actually bypass rebase?
+	git reflog -1 >reflog.actual &&
+	sed "s/^[0-9a-f][0-9a-f]*/OBJID/" reflog.actual >reflog.fuzzy &&
+	echo "OBJID HEAD@{0}: pull --rebase . ff: Fast-forward" >reflog.expected &&
+	test_cmp reflog.expected reflog.fuzzy
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--rebase (am) fast forward' '
+	git reset --hard before-rebase &&
+
+	git -c rebase.backend=apply pull --rebase . ff &&
 	test_cmp_rev HEAD ff &&
 
 	# The above only validates the result.  Did we actually bypass rebase?
@@ -327,7 +340,7 @@ test_expect_success '--rebase with conflicts shows advice' '
 	test_tick &&
 	git commit -m "Create conflict" seq.txt &&
 	test_must_fail git pull --rebase . seq 2>err >out &&
-	test_i18ngrep "Resolve all conflicts manually" out
+	test_i18ngrep "Resolve all conflicts manually" err
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'failed --rebase shows advice' '
@@ -341,7 +354,7 @@ test_expect_success 'failed --rebase shows advice' '
 	git checkout -f -b fails-to-rebase HEAD^ &&
 	test_commit v2-without-cr file "2" file2-lf &&
 	test_must_fail git pull --rebase . diverging 2>err >out &&
-	test_i18ngrep "Resolve all conflicts manually" out
+	test_i18ngrep "Resolve all conflicts manually" err
 '
 
 test_expect_success '--rebase fails with multiple branches' '
@@ -761,8 +774,10 @@ test_expect_success 'git pull --rebase does not reapply old patches' '
 	(
 		cd dst &&
 		test_must_fail git pull --rebase &&
-		find .git/rebase-apply -name "000*" >patches &&
-		test_line_count = 1 patches
+		cat .git/rebase-merge/done .git/rebase-merge/git-rebase-todo >work &&
+		grep -v -e \# -e ^$ work >patches &&
+		test_line_count = 1 patches &&
+		rm -f work
 	)
 '
 
diff --git a/t/t6047-diff3-conflict-markers.sh b/t/t6047-diff3-conflict-markers.sh
index 860542aad0..f4655bb358 100755
--- a/t/t6047-diff3-conflict-markers.sh
+++ b/t/t6047-diff3-conflict-markers.sh
@@ -186,7 +186,7 @@ test_expect_success 'check multiple merge bases' '
 	)
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'rebase describes fake ancestor base' '
+test_expect_success 'rebase --merge describes parent of commit being picked' '
 	test_create_repo rebase &&
 	(
 		cd rebase &&
@@ -194,7 +194,16 @@ test_expect_success 'rebase describes fake ancestor base' '
 		test_commit master file &&
 		git checkout -b side HEAD^ &&
 		test_commit side file &&
-		test_must_fail git -c merge.conflictstyle=diff3 rebase master &&
+		test_must_fail git -c merge.conflictstyle=diff3 rebase --merge master &&
+		grep "||||||| parent of" file
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'rebase --apply describes fake ancestor base' '
+	(
+		cd rebase &&
+		git rebase --abort &&
+		test_must_fail git -c merge.conflictstyle=diff3 rebase --apply master &&
 		grep "||||||| constructed merge base" file
 	)
 '
diff --git a/t/t7512-status-help.sh b/t/t7512-status-help.sh
index 66d7a62797..29518e0949 100755
--- a/t/t7512-status-help.sh
+++ b/t/t7512-status-help.sh
@@ -71,10 +71,10 @@ test_expect_success 'prepare for rebase conflicts' '
 '
 
 
-test_expect_success 'status when rebase in progress before resolving conflicts' '
+test_expect_success 'status when rebase --apply in progress before resolving conflicts' '
 	test_when_finished "git rebase --abort" &&
 	ONTO=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD^^) &&
-	test_must_fail git rebase HEAD^ --onto HEAD^^ &&
+	test_must_fail git rebase --apply HEAD^ --onto HEAD^^ &&
 	cat >expected <<EOF &&
 rebase in progress; onto $ONTO
 You are currently rebasing branch '\''rebase_conflicts'\'' on '\''$ONTO'\''.
@@ -94,11 +94,11 @@ EOF
 '
 
 
-test_expect_success 'status when rebase in progress before rebase --continue' '
+test_expect_success 'status when rebase --apply in progress before rebase --continue' '
 	git reset --hard rebase_conflicts &&
 	test_when_finished "git rebase --abort" &&
 	ONTO=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD^^) &&
-	test_must_fail git rebase HEAD^ --onto HEAD^^ &&
+	test_must_fail git rebase --apply HEAD^ --onto HEAD^^ &&
 	echo three >main.txt &&
 	git add main.txt &&
 	cat >expected <<EOF &&
@@ -688,7 +688,7 @@ EOF
 '
 
 
-test_expect_success 'status when rebase conflicts with statushints disabled' '
+test_expect_success 'status when rebase --apply conflicts with statushints disabled' '
 	git reset --hard master &&
 	git checkout -b statushints_disabled &&
 	test_when_finished "git config --local advice.statushints true" &&
@@ -698,7 +698,7 @@ test_expect_success 'status when rebase conflicts with statushints disabled' '
 	test_commit three_statushints main.txt three &&
 	test_when_finished "git rebase --abort" &&
 	ONTO=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD^^) &&
-	test_must_fail git rebase HEAD^ --onto HEAD^^ &&
+	test_must_fail git rebase --apply HEAD^ --onto HEAD^^ &&
 	cat >expected <<EOF &&
 rebase in progress; onto $ONTO
 You are currently rebasing branch '\''statushints_disabled'\'' on '\''$ONTO'\''.
diff --git a/t/t9106-git-svn-commit-diff-clobber.sh b/t/t9106-git-svn-commit-diff-clobber.sh
index dbe8deac0d..aec45bca3b 100755
--- a/t/t9106-git-svn-commit-diff-clobber.sh
+++ b/t/t9106-git-svn-commit-diff-clobber.sh
@@ -92,7 +92,8 @@ test_expect_success 'multiple dcommit from git svn will not clobber svn' "
 
 
 test_expect_success 'check that rebase really failed' '
-	test -d .git/rebase-apply
+	git status >output &&
+	grep currently.rebasing output
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'resolve, continue the rebase and dcommit' "
diff --git a/t/t9903-bash-prompt.sh b/t/t9903-bash-prompt.sh
index 88bc733ad6..ab5da2cabc 100755
--- a/t/t9903-bash-prompt.sh
+++ b/t/t9903-bash-prompt.sh
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ test_expect_success 'prompt - inside bare repository' '
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'prompt - interactive rebase' '
-	printf " (b1|REBASE-i 2/3)" >expected &&
+	printf " (b1|REBASE 2/3)" >expected &&
 	write_script fake_editor.sh <<-\EOF &&
 		echo "exec echo" >"$1"
 		echo "edit $(git log -1 --format="%h")" >>"$1"
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ test_expect_success 'prompt - interactive rebase' '
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'prompt - rebase merge' '
-	printf " (b2|REBASE-i 1/3)" >expected &&
+	printf " (b2|REBASE 1/3)" >expected &&
 	git checkout b2 &&
 	test_when_finished "git checkout master" &&
 	test_must_fail git rebase --merge b1 b2 &&
@@ -189,11 +189,11 @@ test_expect_success 'prompt - rebase merge' '
 	test_cmp expected "$actual"
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'prompt - rebase' '
+test_expect_success 'prompt - rebase am' '
 	printf " (b2|REBASE 1/3)" >expected &&
 	git checkout b2 &&
 	test_when_finished "git checkout master" &&
-	test_must_fail git rebase b1 b2 &&
+	test_must_fail git rebase --apply b1 b2 &&
 	test_when_finished "git rebase --abort" &&
 	__git_ps1 >"$actual" &&
 	test_cmp expected "$actual"