diff --git a/pkg/commands/models/file.go b/pkg/commands/models/file.go
index e48696a4f..9eedfb1fc 100644
--- a/pkg/commands/models/file.go
+++ b/pkg/commands/models/file.go
@@ -18,10 +18,14 @@ type File struct {
 	Deleted                 bool
 	HasMergeConflicts       bool
 	HasInlineMergeConflicts bool
-	DisplayString           string
-	ShortStatus             string // e.g. 'AD', ' A', 'M ', '??'
-	LinesDeleted            int
-	LinesAdded              int
+	// How long the conflict markers in this file are, taken from its
+	// conflict-marker-size gitattribute; 0 if it doesn't have that attribute. We
+	// only look this up for files that have inline merge conflicts.
+	ConflictMarkerSize int
+	DisplayString      string
+	ShortStatus        string // e.g. 'AD', ' A', 'M ', '??'
+	LinesDeleted       int
+	LinesAdded         int
 
 	// If true, this must be a worktree folder
 	IsWorktree bool
diff --git a/pkg/gui/controllers/files_controller.go b/pkg/gui/controllers/files_controller.go
index be8e94477..41f9197fe 100644
--- a/pkg/gui/controllers/files_controller.go
+++ b/pkg/gui/controllers/files_controller.go
@@ -328,7 +328,7 @@ func (self *FilesController) renderSubmoduleConflict(node *filetree.FileNode) {
 // (it was resolved in an editor), in which case the caller should fall back to
 // showing the file's diff.
 func (self *FilesController) renderInlineMergeConflict(node *filetree.FileNode) bool {
-	hasConflicts, err := self.c.Helpers().MergeConflicts.SetMergeState(node.GetPath())
+	hasConflicts, err := self.c.Helpers().MergeConflicts.SetMergeState(node.File)
 	if err != nil {
 		return true
 	}
@@ -1264,7 +1264,7 @@ func (self *FilesController) switchToMerge() error {
 		return nil
 	}
 
-	return self.c.Helpers().MergeConflicts.SwitchToMerge(file.Path)
+	return self.c.Helpers().MergeConflicts.SwitchToMerge(file)
 }
 
 func (self *FilesController) createStashMenu() error {
diff --git a/pkg/gui/controllers/helpers/merge_conflicts_helper.go b/pkg/gui/controllers/helpers/merge_conflicts_helper.go
index 34ae285f0..3928ecebf 100644
--- a/pkg/gui/controllers/helpers/merge_conflicts_helper.go
+++ b/pkg/gui/controllers/helpers/merge_conflicts_helper.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package helpers
 
 import (
+	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/commands/models"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/gui/context"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/gui/types"
 )
@@ -17,14 +18,14 @@ func NewMergeConflictsHelper(
 	}
 }
 
-func (self *MergeConflictsHelper) SetMergeState(path string) (bool, error) {
+func (self *MergeConflictsHelper) SetMergeState(file *models.File) (bool, error) {
 	self.context().GetMutex().Lock()
 	defer self.context().GetMutex().Unlock()
 
-	return self.setMergeStateWithoutLock(path)
+	return self.setMergeStateWithoutLock(file.Path, file.ConflictMarkerSize)
 }
 
-func (self *MergeConflictsHelper) setMergeStateWithoutLock(path string) (bool, error) {
+func (self *MergeConflictsHelper) setMergeStateWithoutLock(path string, markerSize int) (bool, error) {
 	content, err := self.c.Git().File.Cat(path)
 	if err != nil {
 		return false, err
@@ -34,7 +35,7 @@ func (self *MergeConflictsHelper) setMergeStateWithoutLock(path string) (bool, e
 		self.context().SetUserScrolling(false)
 	}
 
-	self.context().GetState().SetContent(content, path)
+	self.context().GetState().SetContent(content, path, markerSize)
 
 	return !self.context().GetState().NoConflicts(), nil
 }
@@ -72,7 +73,8 @@ func (self *MergeConflictsHelper) SetConflictsAndRender() (bool, error) {
 	self.context().GetMutex().Lock()
 	defer self.context().GetMutex().Unlock()
 
-	hasConflicts, err := self.setMergeStateWithoutLock(self.context().GetState().GetPath())
+	state := self.context().GetState()
+	hasConflicts, err := self.setMergeStateWithoutLock(state.GetPath(), state.GetMarkerSize())
 	if err != nil {
 		return false, err
 	}
@@ -84,9 +86,9 @@ func (self *MergeConflictsHelper) SetConflictsAndRender() (bool, error) {
 	return false, nil
 }
 
-func (self *MergeConflictsHelper) SwitchToMerge(path string) error {
-	if self.context().GetState().GetPath() != path {
-		hasConflicts, err := self.SetMergeState(path)
+func (self *MergeConflictsHelper) SwitchToMerge(file *models.File) error {
+	if self.context().GetState().GetPath() != file.Path {
+		hasConflicts, err := self.SetMergeState(file)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
diff --git a/pkg/gui/controllers/helpers/refresh_helper.go b/pkg/gui/controllers/helpers/refresh_helper.go
index d0327216c..53505ba6c 100644
--- a/pkg/gui/controllers/helpers/refresh_helper.go
+++ b/pkg/gui/controllers/helpers/refresh_helper.go
@@ -1305,7 +1305,8 @@ func (self *RefreshHelper) refreshStateFiles(captured capturedFilesState, env re
 				// process working directory, which may already point at another
 				// repo if the user switched while this refresh was in flight.
 				hasConflicts, err := mergeconflicts.FileHasConflictMarkers(
-					filepath.Join(env.git.RepoPaths.WorktreePath(), file.Path))
+					filepath.Join(env.git.RepoPaths.WorktreePath(), file.Path),
+					file.ConflictMarkerSize)
 				if err != nil {
 					self.c.Log.Error(err)
 				} else if !hasConflicts {
diff --git a/pkg/gui/filetree/file_node.go b/pkg/gui/filetree/file_node.go
index 0836eaf02..04c98f1fa 100644
--- a/pkg/gui/filetree/file_node.go
+++ b/pkg/gui/filetree/file_node.go
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ func (self *FileNode) GetHasInlineMergeConflicts() bool {
 		if !file.HasInlineMergeConflicts {
 			return false
 		}
-		hasConflicts, _ := mergeconflicts.FileHasConflictMarkers(file.Path)
+		hasConflicts, _ := mergeconflicts.FileHasConflictMarkers(file.Path, file.ConflictMarkerSize)
 		return hasConflicts
 	})
 }
diff --git a/pkg/gui/mergeconflicts/find_conflicts.go b/pkg/gui/mergeconflicts/find_conflicts.go
index 5fe45624e..a296baf74 100644
--- a/pkg/gui/mergeconflicts/find_conflicts.go
+++ b/pkg/gui/mergeconflicts/find_conflicts.go
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ package mergeconflicts
 
 import (
 	"bufio"
-	"bytes"
 	"io"
 	"os"
 	"strings"
@@ -22,7 +21,23 @@ const (
 	NOT_A_MARKER
 )
 
-func findConflicts(content string) []*mergeConflict {
+// The number of characters a conflict marker consists of, unless the file's
+// conflict-marker-size gitattribute says otherwise.
+const defaultConflictMarkerSize = 7
+
+// The marker size that everything in here takes is the conflict-marker-size
+// gitattribute of the file being examined, which is 0 for a file that doesn't
+// have that attribute. Git falls back to its default size in that case, so we
+// do the same.
+func effectiveMarkerSize(markerSize int) int {
+	if markerSize < 1 {
+		return defaultConflictMarkerSize
+	}
+
+	return markerSize
+}
+
+func findConflicts(content string, markerSize int) []*mergeConflict {
 	conflicts := make([]*mergeConflict, 0)
 
 	if content == "" {
@@ -31,7 +46,7 @@ func findConflicts(content string) []*mergeConflict {
 
 	var newConflict *mergeConflict
 	for i, line := range utils.SplitLines(content) {
-		switch determineLineType(line) {
+		switch determineLineType(line, markerSize) {
 		case START:
 			newConflict = &mergeConflict{start: i, ancestor: -1}
 		case ANCESTOR:
@@ -57,35 +72,57 @@ func findConflicts(content string) []*mergeConflict {
 	return conflicts
 }
 
-var (
-	CONFLICT_START       = "<<<<<<< "
-	CONFLICT_END         = ">>>>>>> "
-	CONFLICT_START_BYTES = []byte(CONFLICT_START)
-	CONFLICT_END_BYTES   = []byte(CONFLICT_END)
-)
+func determineLineType(line string, markerSize int) LineType {
+	markerSize = effectiveMarkerSize(markerSize)
 
-func determineLineType(line string) LineType {
 	// TODO: find out whether we ever actually get this prefix
 	trimmedLine := strings.TrimPrefix(line, "++")
 
 	switch {
-	case strings.HasPrefix(trimmedLine, CONFLICT_START):
+	case isConflictMarker(trimmedLine, '<', markerSize):
 		return START
-	case strings.HasPrefix(trimmedLine, "||||||| "):
+	case isConflictMarker(trimmedLine, '|', markerSize):
 		return ANCESTOR
-	case trimmedLine == "=======":
+	case isTargetMarker(trimmedLine, markerSize):
 		return TARGET
-	case strings.HasPrefix(trimmedLine, CONFLICT_END):
+	case isConflictMarker(trimmedLine, '>', markerSize):
 		return END
 	default:
 		return NOT_A_MARKER
 	}
 }
 
+// Tells us whether the line begins with markerSize repetitions of markerChar.
+func hasMarkerPrefix[T string | []byte](line T, markerChar byte, markerSize int) bool {
+	if len(line) < markerSize {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	for i := range markerSize {
+		if line[i] != markerChar {
+			return false
+		}
+	}
+
+	return true
+}
+
+// A start, ancestor or end marker is followed by a space and a label, e.g.
+// "<<<<<<< HEAD".
+func isConflictMarker[T string | []byte](line T, markerChar byte, markerSize int) bool {
+	return hasMarkerPrefix(line, markerChar, markerSize) &&
+		len(line) > markerSize && line[markerSize] == ' '
+}
+
+// The marker separating the two sides of a conflict never has a label after it.
+func isTargetMarker(line string, markerSize int) bool {
+	return hasMarkerPrefix(line, '=', markerSize) && len(line) == markerSize
+}
+
 // tells us whether a file actually has inline merge conflicts. We need to run this
 // because git will continue showing a status of 'UU' even after the conflicts have
 // been resolved in the user's editor
-func FileHasConflictMarkers(path string) (bool, error) {
+func FileHasConflictMarkers(path string, markerSize int) (bool, error) {
 	file, err := os.Open(path)
 	if err != nil {
 		return false, err
@@ -93,22 +130,20 @@ func FileHasConflictMarkers(path string) (bool, error) {
 
 	defer file.Close()
 
-	return fileHasConflictMarkersAux(file)
+	return fileHasConflictMarkersAux(file, markerSize)
 }
 
 // Efficiently scans through a file looking for merge conflict markers. Returns true if it does
-func fileHasConflictMarkersAux(file io.Reader) (bool, error) {
+func fileHasConflictMarkersAux(file io.Reader, markerSize int) (bool, error) {
+	markerSize = effectiveMarkerSize(markerSize)
+
 	scanner := bufio.NewScanner(file)
 	scanner.Split(utils.ScanLinesAndTruncateWhenLongerThanBuffer(bufio.MaxScanTokenSize))
 	for scanner.Scan() {
 		line := scanner.Bytes()
 
 		// only searching for start/end markers because the others are more ambiguous
-		if bytes.HasPrefix(line, CONFLICT_START_BYTES) {
-			return true, nil
-		}
-
-		if bytes.HasPrefix(line, CONFLICT_END_BYTES) {
+		if isConflictMarker(line, '<', markerSize) || isConflictMarker(line, '>', markerSize) {
 			return true, nil
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/gui/mergeconflicts/find_conflicts_test.go b/pkg/gui/mergeconflicts/find_conflicts_test.go
index c763aa51f..97a61a3c4 100644
--- a/pkg/gui/mergeconflicts/find_conflicts_test.go
+++ b/pkg/gui/mergeconflicts/find_conflicts_test.go
@@ -8,9 +8,12 @@ import (
 )
 
 func TestDetermineLineType(t *testing.T) {
+	// A markerSize of 0 means the file has no conflict-marker-size gitattribute,
+	// so git's default size applies.
 	type scenario struct {
-		line     string
-		expected LineType
+		line       string
+		markerSize int
+		expected   LineType
 	}
 
 	scenarios := []scenario{
@@ -54,17 +57,62 @@ func TestDetermineLineType(t *testing.T) {
 			line:     "||||||| adf33b9",
 			expected: ANCESTOR,
 		},
+		{
+			line:     "<<<<<<<<",
+			expected: NOT_A_MARKER,
+		},
+		{
+			line:       strings.Repeat("<", 32) + " HEAD",
+			markerSize: 32,
+			expected:   START,
+		},
+		{
+			line:       strings.Repeat("|", 32) + " adf33b9",
+			markerSize: 32,
+			expected:   ANCESTOR,
+		},
+		{
+			line:       strings.Repeat("=", 32),
+			markerSize: 32,
+			expected:   TARGET,
+		},
+		{
+			line:       strings.Repeat(">", 32) + " blah",
+			markerSize: 32,
+			expected:   END,
+		},
+		// A file gets a bigger marker size precisely because its regular content
+		// tends to contain marker-looking lines, so lines with the default size
+		// must not be mistaken for markers
+		{
+			line:       "<<<<<<< HEAD",
+			markerSize: 32,
+			expected:   NOT_A_MARKER,
+		},
+		{
+			line:       "=======",
+			markerSize: 32,
+			expected:   NOT_A_MARKER,
+		},
+		{
+			line:       strings.Repeat("=", 33),
+			markerSize: 32,
+			expected:   NOT_A_MARKER,
+		},
 	}
 
 	for _, s := range scenarios {
-		assert.EqualValues(t, s.expected, determineLineType(s.line))
+		assert.EqualValues(t, s.expected, determineLineType(s.line, s.markerSize), s.line)
 	}
 }
 
 func TestFindConflictsAux(t *testing.T) {
+	// A markerSize of 0 means the file has no conflict-marker-size gitattribute,
+	// so git's default size applies.
 	type scenario struct {
-		content  string
-		expected bool
+		content    string
+		markerSize int
+		expected   bool
 	}
 
 	scenarios := []scenario{
@@ -92,12 +140,28 @@ func TestFindConflictsAux(t *testing.T) {
 			content:  "a\nb\nc\n<<<<<<< ",
 			expected: true,
 		},
+		{
+			content:    "a\nb\nc\n" + strings.Repeat("<", 32) + " HEAD",
+			markerSize: 32,
+			expected:   true,
+		},
+		{
+			content:    "a\nb\nc\n" + strings.Repeat(">", 32) + " blah",
+			markerSize: 32,
+			expected:   true,
+		},
+		// Marker-looking lines of the default size are the file's regular content
+		{
+			content:    "a\nb\nc\n<<<<<<< HEAD\n=======\n>>>>>>> blah",
+			markerSize: 32,
+			expected:   false,
+		},
 	}
 
 	for _, s := range scenarios {
 		reader := strings.NewReader(s.content)
-		result, err := fileHasConflictMarkersAux(reader)
+		result, err := fileHasConflictMarkersAux(reader, s.markerSize)
 		assert.NoError(t, err)
-		assert.EqualValues(t, s.expected, result)
+		assert.EqualValues(t, s.expected, result, s.content)
 	}
 }
diff --git a/pkg/gui/mergeconflicts/state.go b/pkg/gui/mergeconflicts/state.go
index 047241353..d38e0c754 100644
--- a/pkg/gui/mergeconflicts/state.go
+++ b/pkg/gui/mergeconflicts/state.go
@@ -12,6 +12,9 @@ type State struct {
 	// path of the file with the conflicts
 	path string
 
+	// the file's conflict-marker-size gitattribute, or 0 if it doesn't have one
+	markerSize int
+
 	// This is a stack of the file content. It is used to undo changes.
 	// The last item is the current file content.
 	contents []string
@@ -74,12 +77,13 @@ func (s *State) currentConflict() *mergeConflict {
 }
 
 // this is for starting a new merge conflict session
-func (s *State) SetContent(content string, path string) {
-	if content == s.GetContent() && path == s.path {
+func (s *State) SetContent(content string, path string, markerSize int) {
+	if content == s.GetContent() && path == s.path && markerSize == s.markerSize {
 		return
 	}
 
 	s.path = path
+	s.markerSize = markerSize
 	s.contents = []string{}
 	s.PushContent(content)
 }
@@ -88,7 +92,7 @@ func (s *State) SetContent(content string, path string) {
 // state
 func (s *State) PushContent(content string) {
 	s.contents = append(s.contents, content)
-	s.setConflicts(findConflicts(content))
+	s.setConflicts(findConflicts(content, s.markerSize))
 }
 
 func (s *State) GetContent() string {
@@ -103,6 +107,10 @@ func (s *State) GetPath() string {
 	return s.path
 }
 
+func (s *State) GetMarkerSize() int {
+	return s.markerSize
+}
+
 func (s *State) Undo() bool {
 	if len(s.contents) <= 1 {
 		return false
@@ -112,7 +120,7 @@ func (s *State) Undo() bool {
 
 	newContent := s.GetContent()
 	// We could be storing the old conflicts and selected index on a stack too.
-	s.setConflicts(findConflicts(newContent))
+	s.setConflicts(findConflicts(newContent, s.markerSize))
 
 	return true
 }
@@ -147,6 +155,7 @@ func (s *State) AllConflictsResolved() bool {
 func (s *State) Reset() {
 	s.contents = []string{}
 	s.path = ""
+	s.markerSize = 0
 }
 
 // we're not resetting selectedIndex here because the user typically would want
diff --git a/pkg/gui/mergeconflicts/state_test.go b/pkg/gui/mergeconflicts/state_test.go
index 7a9ee8c26..06f8fa6bb 100644
--- a/pkg/gui/mergeconflicts/state_test.go
+++ b/pkg/gui/mergeconflicts/state_test.go
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ baz
 
 	for _, s := range scenarios {
 		t.Run(s.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-			assert.EqualValues(t, s.expected, findConflicts(s.content))
+			assert.EqualValues(t, s.expected, findConflicts(s.content, defaultConflictMarkerSize))
 		})
 	}
 }