diff --git a/scm-core/pom.xml b/scm-core/pom.xml
index c7bbc664c9..8437b256b2 100644
--- a/scm-core/pom.xml
+++ b/scm-core/pom.xml
@@ -214,6 +214,12 @@
       <artifactId>shiro-unit</artifactId>
       <scope>test</scope>
     </dependency>
+    <dependency>
+      <groupId>org.hibernate</groupId>
+      <artifactId>hibernate-validator</artifactId>
+      <version>5.3.6.Final</version>
+      <scope>compile</scope>
+    </dependency>
 
   </dependencies>
 
diff --git a/scm-webapp/src/main/java/sonia/scm/api/v2/resources/MergeCommandDto.java b/scm-core/src/main/java/sonia/scm/api/v2/resources/MergeCommandDto.java
similarity index 100%
rename from scm-webapp/src/main/java/sonia/scm/api/v2/resources/MergeCommandDto.java
rename to scm-core/src/main/java/sonia/scm/api/v2/resources/MergeCommandDto.java
diff --git a/scm-plugins/scm-git-plugin/src/test/java/sonia/scm/repository/spi/GitMergeCommandTest.java b/scm-plugins/scm-git-plugin/src/test/java/sonia/scm/repository/spi/GitMergeCommandTest.java
index d3c78ae9da..d7e8482f55 100644
--- a/scm-plugins/scm-git-plugin/src/test/java/sonia/scm/repository/spi/GitMergeCommandTest.java
+++ b/scm-plugins/scm-git-plugin/src/test/java/sonia/scm/repository/spi/GitMergeCommandTest.java
@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ public class GitMergeCommandTest extends AbstractGitCommandTestBase {
     MergeCommandRequest request = new MergeCommandRequest();
     request.setTargetBranch("master");
     request.setBranchToMerge("mergeable");
+    request.setMergeStrategy(MergeStrategy.MERGE_COMMIT);
     request.setAuthor(new Person("Dirk Gently", "dirk@holistic.det"));
 
     MergeCommandResult mergeCommandResult = command.merge(request);
@@ -90,6 +91,7 @@ public class GitMergeCommandTest extends AbstractGitCommandTestBase {
     MergeCommandRequest request = new MergeCommandRequest();
     request.setTargetBranch("master");
     request.setBranchToMerge("empty_merge");
+    request.setMergeStrategy(MergeStrategy.MERGE_COMMIT);
     request.setAuthor(new Person("Dirk Gently", "dirk@holistic.det"));
 
     MergeCommandResult mergeCommandResult = command.merge(request);
@@ -111,6 +113,7 @@ public class GitMergeCommandTest extends AbstractGitCommandTestBase {
     request.setTargetBranch("master");
     request.setBranchToMerge("mergeable");
     request.setAuthor(new Person("Dirk Gently", "dirk@holistic.det"));
+    request.setMergeStrategy(MergeStrategy.MERGE_COMMIT);
 
     MergeCommandResult mergeCommandResult = command.merge(request);
 
@@ -134,6 +137,7 @@ public class GitMergeCommandTest extends AbstractGitCommandTestBase {
     MergeCommandRequest request = new MergeCommandRequest();
     request.setTargetBranch("master");
     request.setBranchToMerge("mergeable");
+    request.setMergeStrategy(MergeStrategy.MERGE_COMMIT);
     request.setAuthor(new Person("Dirk Gently", "dirk@holistic.det"));
     request.setMessageTemplate("simple");
 
@@ -154,6 +158,7 @@ public class GitMergeCommandTest extends AbstractGitCommandTestBase {
     MergeCommandRequest request = new MergeCommandRequest();
     request.setBranchToMerge("test-branch");
     request.setTargetBranch("master");
+    request.setMergeStrategy(MergeStrategy.MERGE_COMMIT);
 
     MergeCommandResult mergeCommandResult = command.merge(request);
 
@@ -175,6 +180,7 @@ public class GitMergeCommandTest extends AbstractGitCommandTestBase {
     MergeCommandRequest request = new MergeCommandRequest();
     request.setTargetBranch("master");
     request.setBranchToMerge("mergeable");
+    request.setMergeStrategy(MergeStrategy.MERGE_COMMIT);
 
     MergeCommandResult mergeCommandResult = command.merge(request);
 
@@ -194,6 +200,7 @@ public class GitMergeCommandTest extends AbstractGitCommandTestBase {
     request.setAuthor(new Person("Dirk Gently", "dirk@holistic.det"));
     request.setTargetBranch("mergeable");
     request.setBranchToMerge("master");
+    request.setMergeStrategy(MergeStrategy.MERGE_COMMIT);
 
     MergeCommandResult mergeCommandResult = command.merge(request);
 
@@ -316,6 +323,7 @@ public class GitMergeCommandTest extends AbstractGitCommandTestBase {
     MergeCommandRequest request = new MergeCommandRequest();
     request.setTargetBranch("mergeable");
     request.setBranchToMerge("not_existing");
+    request.setMergeStrategy(MergeStrategy.MERGE_COMMIT);
 
     command.merge(request);
   }
@@ -324,6 +332,7 @@ public class GitMergeCommandTest extends AbstractGitCommandTestBase {
   public void shouldHandleNotExistingTargetBranchInMerge() {
     GitMergeCommand command = createCommand();
     MergeCommandRequest request = new MergeCommandRequest();
+    request.setMergeStrategy(MergeStrategy.MERGE_COMMIT);
     request.setTargetBranch("not_existing");
     request.setBranchToMerge("master");
 
diff --git a/scm-webapp/src/main/java/sonia/scm/api/v2/resources/MergeResource.java b/scm-webapp/src/main/java/sonia/scm/api/v2/resources/MergeResource.java
deleted file mode 100644
index df59ba2abc..0000000000
--- a/scm-webapp/src/main/java/sonia/scm/api/v2/resources/MergeResource.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,95 +0,0 @@
-package sonia.scm.api.v2.resources;
-
-import com.webcohesion.enunciate.metadata.rs.ResponseCode;
-import com.webcohesion.enunciate.metadata.rs.StatusCodes;
-import lombok.extern.slf4j.Slf4j;
-import org.apache.http.HttpStatus;
-import sonia.scm.ConcurrentModificationException;
-import sonia.scm.repository.NamespaceAndName;
-import sonia.scm.repository.RepositoryPermissions;
-import sonia.scm.repository.api.MergeCommandBuilder;
-import sonia.scm.repository.api.MergeCommandResult;
-import sonia.scm.repository.api.MergeDryRunCommandResult;
-import sonia.scm.repository.api.RepositoryService;
-import sonia.scm.repository.api.RepositoryServiceFactory;
-import sonia.scm.web.VndMediaType;
-
-import javax.inject.Inject;
-import javax.validation.Valid;
-import javax.ws.rs.Consumes;
-import javax.ws.rs.POST;
-import javax.ws.rs.Path;
-import javax.ws.rs.PathParam;
-import javax.ws.rs.Produces;
-import javax.ws.rs.core.Response;
-
-@Slf4j
-public class MergeResource {
-
-  private final RepositoryServiceFactory serviceFactory;
-  private final MergeResultToDtoMapper mapper;
-
-  @Inject
-  public MergeResource(RepositoryServiceFactory serviceFactory, MergeResultToDtoMapper mapper) {
-    this.serviceFactory = serviceFactory;
-    this.mapper = mapper;
-  }
-
-  @POST
-  @Path("")
-  @Produces(VndMediaType.MERGE_RESULT)
-  @Consumes(VndMediaType.MERGE_COMMAND)
-  @StatusCodes({
-    @ResponseCode(code = 204, condition = "merge has been executed successfully"),
-    @ResponseCode(code = 401, condition = "not authenticated / invalid credentials"),
-    @ResponseCode(code = 403, condition = "not authorized, the current user does not have the privilege to write the repository"),
-    @ResponseCode(code = 409, condition = "The branches could not be merged automatically due to conflicts (conflicting files will be returned)"),
-    @ResponseCode(code = 500, condition = "internal server error")
-  })
-  public Response merge(@PathParam("namespace") String namespace, @PathParam("name") String name, @Valid MergeCommandDto mergeCommand) {
-    NamespaceAndName namespaceAndName = new NamespaceAndName(namespace, name);
-    log.info("Merge in Repository {}/{} from {} to {}", namespace, name, mergeCommand.getSourceRevision(), mergeCommand.getTargetRevision());
-    try (RepositoryService repositoryService = serviceFactory.create(namespaceAndName)) {
-      RepositoryPermissions.push(repositoryService.getRepository()).check();
-      MergeCommandResult mergeCommandResult = createMergeCommand(mergeCommand, repositoryService).executeMerge();
-      if (mergeCommandResult.isSuccess()) {
-        return Response.noContent().build();
-      } else {
-        return Response.status(HttpStatus.SC_CONFLICT).entity(mapper.map(mergeCommandResult)).build();
-      }
-    }
-  }
-
-  @POST
-  @Path("dry-run/")
-  @StatusCodes({
-    @ResponseCode(code = 204, condition = "merge can be done automatically"),
-    @ResponseCode(code = 401, condition = "not authenticated / invalid credentials"),
-    @ResponseCode(code = 409, condition = "The branches can not be merged automatically due to conflicts"),
-    @ResponseCode(code = 500, condition = "internal server error")
-  })
-  public Response dryRun(@PathParam("namespace") String namespace, @PathParam("name") String name, @Valid MergeCommandDto mergeCommand) {
-
-    NamespaceAndName namespaceAndName = new NamespaceAndName(namespace, name);
-    log.info("Merge in Repository {}/{} from {} to {}", namespace, name, mergeCommand.getSourceRevision(), mergeCommand.getTargetRevision());
-    try (RepositoryService repositoryService = serviceFactory.create(namespaceAndName)) {
-      if (RepositoryPermissions.push(repositoryService.getRepository()).isPermitted()) {
-        MergeDryRunCommandResult mergeCommandResult = createMergeCommand(mergeCommand, repositoryService).dryRun();
-        if (mergeCommandResult.isMergeable()) {
-          return Response.noContent().build();
-        } else {
-          throw new ConcurrentModificationException("revision", mergeCommand.getTargetRevision());
-        }
-      } else {
-        return Response.noContent().build();
-      }
-    }
-  }
-
-  private MergeCommandBuilder createMergeCommand(MergeCommandDto mergeCommand, RepositoryService repositoryService) {
-    return repositoryService
-      .getMergeCommand()
-      .setBranchToMerge(mergeCommand.getSourceRevision())
-      .setTargetBranch(mergeCommand.getTargetRevision());
-  }
-}
diff --git a/scm-webapp/src/main/java/sonia/scm/api/v2/resources/RepositoryToRepositoryDtoMapper.java b/scm-webapp/src/main/java/sonia/scm/api/v2/resources/RepositoryToRepositoryDtoMapper.java
index 67a6f26de5..c09f90c83d 100644
--- a/scm-webapp/src/main/java/sonia/scm/api/v2/resources/RepositoryToRepositoryDtoMapper.java
+++ b/scm-webapp/src/main/java/sonia/scm/api/v2/resources/RepositoryToRepositoryDtoMapper.java
@@ -63,12 +63,6 @@ public abstract class RepositoryToRepositoryDtoMapper extends BaseMapper<Reposit
         linksBuilder.single(link("incomingChangesets", resourceLinks.incoming().changesets(repository.getNamespace(), repository.getName())));
         linksBuilder.single(link("incomingDiff", resourceLinks.incoming().diff(repository.getNamespace(), repository.getName())));
       }
-      if (repositoryService.isSupported(Command.MERGE)) {
-        if (RepositoryPermissions.push(repository).isPermitted()) {
-          linksBuilder.single(link("merge", resourceLinks.merge().merge(repository.getNamespace(), repository.getName())));
-        }
-        linksBuilder.single(link("mergeDryRun", resourceLinks.merge().dryRun(repository.getNamespace(), repository.getName())));
-      }
     }
     linksBuilder.single(link("changesets", resourceLinks.changeset().all(repository.getNamespace(), repository.getName())));
     linksBuilder.single(link("sources", resourceLinks.source().selfWithoutRevision(repository.getNamespace(), repository.getName())));
diff --git a/scm-webapp/src/main/java/sonia/scm/api/v2/resources/ResourceLinks.java b/scm-webapp/src/main/java/sonia/scm/api/v2/resources/ResourceLinks.java
index 8a7ce5a8b4..8434a833d7 100644
--- a/scm-webapp/src/main/java/sonia/scm/api/v2/resources/ResourceLinks.java
+++ b/scm-webapp/src/main/java/sonia/scm/api/v2/resources/ResourceLinks.java
@@ -792,26 +792,6 @@ class ResourceLinks {
     }
   }
 
-  public MergeLinks merge() {
-    return new MergeLinks(scmPathInfoStore.get());
-  }
-
-  static class MergeLinks {
-    private final LinkBuilder mergeLinkBuilder;
-
-    MergeLinks(ScmPathInfo pathInfo) {
-      this.mergeLinkBuilder = new LinkBuilder(pathInfo, RepositoryRootResource.class, RepositoryResource.class, MergeResource.class);
-    }
-
-    String merge(String namespace, String name) {
-      return mergeLinkBuilder.method("getRepositoryResource").parameters(namespace, name).method("merge").parameters().method("merge").parameters().href();
-    }
-
-    String dryRun(String namespace, String name) {
-      return mergeLinkBuilder.method("getRepositoryResource").parameters(namespace, name).method("merge").parameters().method("dryRun").parameters().href();
-    }
-  }
-
   public PermissionsLinks permissions() {
     return new PermissionsLinks(scmPathInfoStore.get());
   }
diff --git a/scm-webapp/src/test/java/sonia/scm/api/v2/resources/MergeResourceTest.java b/scm-webapp/src/test/java/sonia/scm/api/v2/resources/MergeResourceTest.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 202b2d20f1..0000000000
--- a/scm-webapp/src/test/java/sonia/scm/api/v2/resources/MergeResourceTest.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,205 +0,0 @@
-package sonia.scm.api.v2.resources;
-
-import com.github.sdorra.shiro.SubjectAware;
-import com.google.common.io.Resources;
-import com.google.inject.util.Providers;
-import org.apache.shiro.subject.PrincipalCollection;
-import org.apache.shiro.subject.Subject;
-import org.apache.shiro.util.ThreadContext;
-import org.jboss.resteasy.core.Dispatcher;
-import org.jboss.resteasy.mock.MockHttpRequest;
-import org.jboss.resteasy.mock.MockHttpResponse;
-import org.junit.jupiter.api.AfterEach;
-import org.junit.jupiter.api.BeforeEach;
-import org.junit.jupiter.api.Nested;
-import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
-import org.junit.jupiter.api.extension.ExtendWith;
-import org.mockito.InjectMocks;
-import org.mockito.Mock;
-import org.mockito.junit.jupiter.MockitoExtension;
-import sonia.scm.repository.NamespaceAndName;
-import sonia.scm.repository.Repository;
-import sonia.scm.repository.api.MergeCommandBuilder;
-import sonia.scm.repository.api.MergeCommandResult;
-import sonia.scm.repository.api.MergeDryRunCommandResult;
-import sonia.scm.repository.api.RepositoryService;
-import sonia.scm.repository.api.RepositoryServiceFactory;
-import sonia.scm.repository.spi.MergeCommand;
-import sonia.scm.user.User;
-import sonia.scm.web.VndMediaType;
-
-import java.net.URL;
-
-import static java.util.Arrays.asList;
-import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
-import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.any;
-import static org.mockito.Mockito.lenient;
-import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
-import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;
-import static sonia.scm.repository.RepositoryTestData.createHeartOfGold;
-
-@ExtendWith(MockitoExtension.class)
-@SubjectAware(
-  configuration = "classpath:sonia/scm/shiro-001.ini",
-  username = "trillian",
-  password = "secret"
-)
-public class MergeResourceTest extends RepositoryTestBase {
-
-  public static final String MERGE_URL = "/" + RepositoryRootResource.REPOSITORIES_PATH_V2 + "space/repo/merge/";
-  private Repository repository = createHeartOfGold();
-
-  private Dispatcher dispatcher;
-  @Mock
-  private RepositoryServiceFactory serviceFactory;
-  @Mock
-  private RepositoryService repositoryService;
-  @Mock
-  private MergeCommand mergeCommand;
-  @InjectMocks
-  private MergeCommandBuilder mergeCommandBuilder;
-  private MergeResultToDtoMapperImpl mapper = new MergeResultToDtoMapperImpl();
-
-  private MergeResource mergeResource;
-
-  @BeforeEach
-  void init() {
-    mergeResource = new MergeResource(serviceFactory, mapper);
-    super.mergeResource = Providers.of(mergeResource);
-    dispatcher = DispatcherMock.createDispatcher(getRepositoryRootResource());
-  }
-
-  @Test
-  void shouldHandleIllegalInput() throws Exception {
-    URL url = Resources.getResource("sonia/scm/api/v2/mergeCommand_invalid.json");
-    byte[] mergeCommandJson = Resources.toByteArray(url);
-
-    MockHttpRequest request = MockHttpRequest
-      .post(MERGE_URL + "dry-run/")
-      .content(mergeCommandJson)
-      .contentType(VndMediaType.MERGE_COMMAND);
-    MockHttpResponse response = new MockHttpResponse();
-    dispatcher.invoke(request, response);
-
-    assertThat(response.getStatus()).isEqualTo(400);
-    System.out.println(response.getContentAsString());
-  }
-
-  @Nested
-  class ExecutingMergeCommand {
-
-    @Mock
-    private Subject subject;
-
-    @BeforeEach
-    void initRepository() {
-      when(serviceFactory.create(new NamespaceAndName("space", "repo"))).thenReturn(repositoryService);
-      lenient().when(repositoryService.getMergeCommand()).thenReturn(mergeCommandBuilder);
-      when(repositoryService.getRepository()).thenReturn(repository);
-
-      ThreadContext.bind(subject);
-    }
-
-    @AfterEach
-    void tearDownShiro() {
-      ThreadContext.unbindSubject();
-    }
-
-    @Test
-    void shouldHandleSuccessfulMerge() throws Exception {
-      when(mergeCommand.merge(any())).thenReturn(MergeCommandResult.success());
-      mockUser();
-
-      URL url = Resources.getResource("sonia/scm/api/v2/mergeCommand.json");
-      byte[] mergeCommandJson = Resources.toByteArray(url);
-
-      MockHttpRequest request = MockHttpRequest
-        .post(MERGE_URL)
-        .content(mergeCommandJson)
-        .contentType(VndMediaType.MERGE_COMMAND);
-      MockHttpResponse response = new MockHttpResponse();
-      dispatcher.invoke(request, response);
-
-      assertThat(response.getStatus()).isEqualTo(204);
-    }
-
-    @Test
-    void shouldHandleFailedMerge() throws Exception {
-      when(mergeCommand.merge(any())).thenReturn(MergeCommandResult.failure(asList("file1", "file2")));
-      mockUser();
-
-      URL url = Resources.getResource("sonia/scm/api/v2/mergeCommand.json");
-      byte[] mergeCommandJson = Resources.toByteArray(url);
-
-      MockHttpRequest request = MockHttpRequest
-        .post(MERGE_URL)
-        .content(mergeCommandJson)
-        .contentType(VndMediaType.MERGE_COMMAND);
-      MockHttpResponse response = new MockHttpResponse();
-      dispatcher.invoke(request, response);
-
-      assertThat(response.getStatus()).isEqualTo(409);
-      assertThat(response.getContentAsString()).contains("file1", "file2");
-    }
-
-    @Test
-    void shouldHandleSuccessfulDryRun() throws Exception {
-      when(subject.isPermitted("repository:push:" + repositoryService.getRepository().getId())).thenReturn(true);
-      when(mergeCommand.dryRun(any())).thenReturn(new MergeDryRunCommandResult(true));
-
-      URL url = Resources.getResource("sonia/scm/api/v2/mergeCommand.json");
-      byte[] mergeCommandJson = Resources.toByteArray(url);
-
-      MockHttpRequest request = MockHttpRequest
-        .post(MERGE_URL + "dry-run/")
-        .content(mergeCommandJson)
-        .contentType(VndMediaType.MERGE_COMMAND);
-      MockHttpResponse response = new MockHttpResponse();
-      dispatcher.invoke(request, response);
-
-      assertThat(response.getStatus()).isEqualTo(204);
-    }
-
-    @Test
-    void shouldHandleFailedDryRun() throws Exception {
-      when(subject.isPermitted("repository:push:" + repositoryService.getRepository().getId())).thenReturn(true);
-      when(mergeCommand.dryRun(any())).thenReturn(new MergeDryRunCommandResult(false));
-
-      URL url = Resources.getResource("sonia/scm/api/v2/mergeCommand.json");
-      byte[] mergeCommandJson = Resources.toByteArray(url);
-
-      MockHttpRequest request = MockHttpRequest
-        .post(MERGE_URL + "dry-run/")
-        .content(mergeCommandJson)
-        .contentType(VndMediaType.MERGE_COMMAND);
-      MockHttpResponse response = new MockHttpResponse();
-      dispatcher.invoke(request, response);
-
-      assertThat(response.getStatus()).isEqualTo(409);
-    }
-
-    @Test
-    void shouldSkipDryRunIfSubjectHasNoPushPermission() throws Exception {
-      when(subject.isPermitted("repository:push:" + repositoryService.getRepository().getId())).thenReturn(false);
-
-      URL url = Resources.getResource("sonia/scm/api/v2/mergeCommand.json");
-      byte[] mergeCommandJson = Resources.toByteArray(url);
-
-      MockHttpRequest request = MockHttpRequest
-        .post(MERGE_URL + "dry-run/")
-        .content(mergeCommandJson)
-        .contentType(VndMediaType.MERGE_COMMAND);
-      MockHttpResponse response = new MockHttpResponse();
-      dispatcher.invoke(request, response);
-
-      assertThat(response.getStatus()).isEqualTo(204);
-    }
-
-
-    private void mockUser() {
-      PrincipalCollection collection = mock(PrincipalCollection.class);
-      when(subject.getPrincipals()).thenReturn(collection);
-      when(collection.oneByType(User.class)).thenReturn(new User("dummy"));
-    }
-  }
-}