Change GitHub default branch from master to main.

change_default_git_branch_to_master.md

Change GitHub default branch from master to main

5 simple steps that I tested and used to make the change in under 1 minute.

1. Move the master branch to main

   git branch --move master main

2. Push main to remote repo

   git push --set-upstream origin main

3. Point HEAD to main branch

   git symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD refs/remotes/origin/main

4. Change default branch to main on GitHub

   • Navigate in your browser to your GitHub repository.
   • From the left rail, click Settings -> Branches and change the default branch to main

5. Delete master branch on the remote repo

   git push origin --delete master

Updating a local clone after a branch name changes

After you rename a branch in a repository on GitHub, any collaborator with a local clone of the repository will need to update the clone.

From the local clone of the repository on a computer, run the following commands to update the name of the default branch.

git branch -m OLD-BRANCH-NAME NEW-BRANCH-NAME
git fetch origin
git branch -u origin/NEW-BRANCH-NAME NEW-BRANCH-NAME
git remote set-head origin -a

Optionally, run the following command to remove tracking references to the old branch name.

git remote prune origin

Source: GitHub: Updating a local clone after a branch name changes

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To initialize a new Git repository and set the default branch to main:

git init --initial-branch=main

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• Source: Steven Mortimer, 5 steps to change GitHub default branch from master to main
• Snippet: https://jonlabelle.com/snippets/view/markdown/change-github-default-branch-from-master-to-main
• Gist: https://gist.github.com/jonlabelle/81206faafb56714d7499efa54eb8f3ff