diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
index 074c5c10..04020ff1 100644
--- a/.gitattributes
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -10,6 +10,3 @@ doc/cli.markdown text eol=lf
 # crlf for the eol conversion test files
 tests/test-data/projects/docker-compose/basic/service2/file2-crlf.sh eol=crlf
 tests/test-data/projects/no-docker-compose/basic/src/windows-crlf.sh eol=crlf
-
-# Prevent auto merging of the npm-shrinkwrap.json file: see notes in CONTRIBUTING.md
-/npm-shrinkwrap.json merge=binary
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 8f1a2eb4..9cc60e8b 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -98,27 +98,18 @@ Meanwhile, as a text (JSON) file, `git` is capable of merging the `npm-shrinkwra
 operations like `rebase`, `cherry-pick` and `pull`. But git's automated merge is not the
 recommended way of updating the `npm-shrinkwrap.json` file, because it does not take into account
 duplicates or conflicts in the dependency tree, or indeed the state of the `package.json` file
-(which may have just been merged). In extreme cases, the automated merge may actually result in a
-broken installation. For these reasons, automatic merging of the `npm-shrinkwrap.json` was disabled
-through the `.gitattributes` file (the "binary merge driver" allows diff'ing but prevents automatic
-merging). Operations like `git rebase` may then result in an error like:
-
-```text
-$ git rebase master
-warning: Cannot merge binary files: npm-shrinkwrap.json (HEAD vs. c34942b9... test)
-Auto-merging npm-shrinkwrap.json
-CONFLICT (content): Merge conflict in npm-shrinkwrap.json
-error: Failed to merge in the changes.
+(which may have just been merged). You can improve this by installing the npm merge driver with:
+```
+npx npm-merge-driver install -g
 ```
 
 Whether or not there is a merge error, the following commands are the recommended way of updating
 and committing the `npm-shrinkwrap.json` file:
 
 ```bash
-$ rm -rf node_modules  # Linux / Mac
-$ rmdir /s node_modules  # Windows Command Prompt
-$ npm checkout master -- npm-shrinkwrap.json  # revert it to the master branch state
-$ npm install  # "cleanly" update the npm-shrinkwrap.json file
+$ npm install  # fetch the latest modules update the npm-shrinkwrap.json file
+$ npm dedupe  # deduplicate dependencies from the npm-shrinkwrap.json file
+$ npm install  # re-add optional dependencies for other platforms that may have been removed by dedupe
 $ git add npm-shrinkwrap.json  # add it for committing (solve merge errors)
 ```