diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0e4c6f8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# Every PR adds an entry at the top of TODO.md's Completed Steps; union keeps
+# both sides instead of conflicting. Git never reports a conflict here: read
+# the merged entries after every merge or rebase.
+TODO.md merge=union
diff --git a/TODO.md b/TODO.md
index ec2ee54..8a0673a 100644
--- a/TODO.md
+++ b/TODO.md
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 * branch per issue from `next`
 * do the work in Next Step
 * move Next Step to the top of Completed Steps
+* `TODO.md` merges with git's union merge (`.gitattributes`), which never
+  reports a conflict: read the merged entries after every merge or rebase
 * move the top item of Future Steps into Next Step
 * commit (`TODO.md` changes in the same commit as the work)
 * open a PR based on `next`
@@ -29,6 +31,14 @@ P2: security: referer blacklist
 
 # Completed Steps
 
+- 2026-10-04 `TODO.md` merges with git's union merge (closes #190): a root
+  `.gitattributes`, copied from `sneak/prompts`, marks it `merge=union`, so two
+  branches that each add an entry at the top of Completed Steps merge without a
+  conflict and keep both entries. Git now never reports a conflict in
+  `TODO.md`: a real one keeps both versions of the lines, and two entries that
+  share an identical line can end up one inside the other, which a rebase can
+  do to an entry already on `next`. The Workflow above says to read the merged
+  entries after every merge or rebase.
 - 2026-10-04 `TestEvictionRunsOnPeriodicSchedule` no longer races the evictor
   (closes #183): it wrote each variant file and then inserted its accounting row
   by hand, and a reconciliation pass between the two adopted the file first, so