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 65e7c6c..673f109 100644
--- a/TODO.md
+++ b/TODO.md
@@ -21,6 +21,14 @@ fmt-check, and commit.
 
 # Completed Steps
 
+- 2026-10-04: Added a root `.gitattributes` that merges `TODO.md` with git's
+  union merge (issue 98), so two branches that each add an entry at the top of
+  Completed Steps merge without a conflict. Git now never reports a conflict in
+  `TODO.md`: a real conflict elsewhere keeps both versions of the line, and when
+  two new entries share an identical line, one is inserted into the middle of
+  the other, which a rebase can do to an entry already on `next`. Read the
+  merged entries after every merge or rebase. This applies to this repository
+  only; no canonical file changed.
 - 2026-10-04: The canonical `.dockerignore` now also keeps out the git `config`
   of a submodule that keeps its own `.git` directory, which still reached the
   image (issue 88): both git patterns now carry the `**/` prefix. A submodule