diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1e94e04..6f9e8bb 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -97,9 +97,10 @@ Please refer to the [release page](https://github.com/actions/checkout/releases/
     clean: ''
 
     # Whether to preserve local changes during checkout. If true, tries to preserve
-    # local files that are not tracked by Git. By default, all files will be overwritten.
+    # local files that are not tracked by Git. By default, all files will be
+    # overwritten.
     # Default: false
-    preserveLocalChanges: ''
+    preserve-local-changes: ''
 
     # Partially clone against a given filter. Overrides sparse-checkout if set.
     # Default: null
@@ -349,7 +350,7 @@ steps:
     uses: actions/checkout@v5
     with:
       clean: false
-      preserveLocalChanges: true
+      preserve-local-changes: true
 ```
 
 # Recommended permissions
diff --git a/action.yml b/action.yml
index 26d5a5b..0665486 100644
--- a/action.yml
+++ b/action.yml
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ inputs:
   clean:
     description: 'Whether to execute `git clean -ffdx && git reset --hard HEAD` before fetching'
     default: 'true'
-  preserveLocalChanges:
+  preserve-local-changes:
     description: 'Whether to preserve local changes during checkout. If true, tries to preserve local files that are not tracked by Git. By default, all files will be overwritten.'
     default: 'false'
   filter:
diff --git a/dist/index.js b/dist/index.js
index f3ae6f3..e91b36b 100644
--- a/dist/index.js
+++ b/dist/index.js
@@ -609,9 +609,17 @@ class GitCommandManager {
             yield fs.promises.appendFile(sparseCheckoutPath, `\n${sparseCheckout.join('\n')}\n`);
         });
     }
-    checkout(ref, startPoint) {
-        return __awaiter(this, void 0, void 0, function* () {
-            const args = ['checkout', '--progress', '--force'];
+    checkout(ref_1, startPoint_1) {
+        return __awaiter(this, arguments, void 0, function* (ref, startPoint, options = []) {
+            const args = ['checkout', '--progress'];
+            // Add custom options (like --merge) if provided
+            if (options.length > 0) {
+                args.push(...options);
+            }
+            else {
+                // Default behavior - use force
+                args.push('--force');
+            }
             if (startPoint) {
                 args.push('-B', ref, startPoint);
             }
@@ -1329,7 +1337,16 @@ function getSource(settings) {
             }
             // Checkout
             core.startGroup('Checking out the ref');
-            yield git.checkout(checkoutInfo.ref, checkoutInfo.startPoint);
+            if (settings.preserveLocalChanges) {
+                core.info('Attempting to preserve local changes during checkout');
+                // Use --merge to preserve local changes if possible
+                // This will fail if there are merge conflicts, but that's expected behavior
+                yield git.checkout(checkoutInfo.ref, checkoutInfo.startPoint, ['--merge']);
+            }
+            else {
+                // Use the default behavior with --force
+                yield git.checkout(checkoutInfo.ref, checkoutInfo.startPoint);
+            }
             core.endGroup();
             // Submodules
             if (settings.submodules) {
@@ -1766,6 +1783,9 @@ function getInputs() {
         // Clean
         result.clean = (core.getInput('clean') || 'true').toUpperCase() === 'TRUE';
         core.debug(`clean = ${result.clean}`);
+        // Preserve local changes
+        result.preserveLocalChanges = (core.getInput('preserve-local-changes') || 'false').toUpperCase() === 'TRUE';
+        core.debug(`preserveLocalChanges = ${result.preserveLocalChanges}`);
         // Filter
         const filter = core.getInput('filter');
         if (filter) {
diff --git a/src/input-helper.ts b/src/input-helper.ts
index 833cdcd..49eafc7 100644
--- a/src/input-helper.ts
+++ b/src/input-helper.ts
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ export async function getInputs(): Promise<IGitSourceSettings> {
   core.debug(`clean = ${result.clean}`)
 
   // Preserve local changes
-  result.preserveLocalChanges = (core.getInput('preserveLocalChanges') || 'false').toUpperCase() === 'TRUE'
+  result.preserveLocalChanges = (core.getInput('preserve-local-changes') || 'false').toUpperCase() === 'TRUE'
   core.debug(`preserveLocalChanges = ${result.preserveLocalChanges}`)
 
   // Filter