To rename your Git master branch to main, you must do the following steps:
-
Navigate to your repository in the command line and issue the following commands: -
git branch -m master main-git push -u origin main -
Change your default branch on GitHub by going to your GitHub repository in your browser, and navigate to
Settings > Branchesand click on the dropdown and switch frommastertomainand clickUpdate(this will only show if you have two or more branches). Themainbranch is now your default branch. -
Update the tracking of the branch from your command line with the following command: -
git branch -u origin/main main -
Delete the old
masterbranch by going to your GitHub repository in your browser, navigate to your branches page, and click theDelete this branchbutton (the red trash bin icon). Yourmasterbranch is now gone.
If someone has a local clone of your repository, they can update their locals by following these steps:
- Got to the master branch:
git checkout master - Rename master to main locally:
git branch -m master main - Get the latest commits from the server:
git fetch - Remove the link to origin/master:
git branch --unset-upstream - Add a link to origin/main:
git branch -u origin/main - Update the default branch to be origin/main:
git symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD refs/remotes/origin/main - Delete origin/master completely:
git branch --remotes -d origin/master
Thanks Scott Hanselman for the instructions, you can read the full article here: Easily rename your Git default branch from master to main
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@bitsondatadev Interesting, thanks for the reference. The More You Know! 🌈
There is no 'slave' or subordinate in git (as opposed to RAID, distributed systems, etc.) so not sure why that was the impetus for Github, but oh well. I wish the original git whitepapers had happened to name it
mainback then... it IS a way more concise term for its function. And as the old saying goes: a rose is a rose by any other name except when they break your code ;)