How to Rename a Branch in Git (Including master to main)

Renaming a branch in Git is a common task — whether you're fixing a typo, adopting a new naming convention, or migrating from "master" to "main". Here's how to do it locally, on the remote, and across your whole team.

Renaming a Local Branch

To rename the branch you currently have checked out:

$ git branch -m <new-name>

To rename a branch you are NOT currently on:

$ git branch -m <old-name> <new-name>

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Renaming a Remote Branch

Remote branches cannot be renamed directly in Git. In practice, you delete the old one and push the new name:

# Delete the old remote branch:
$ git push origin --delete <old-name>

# Push the renamed local branch to the remote:
$ git push -u origin <new-name>

If the renamed branch had an upstream tracking connection, update it:

$ git branch --set-upstream-to=origin/<new-name>

Teammates who had the old branch checked out will need to run git fetch --prune to remove the stale remote reference, then re-establish tracking:

$ git branch -u origin/<new-name> <new-name>

Renaming "master" to "main"

Many teams are moving away from "master" as the default branch name. Here is how to make that change safely.

Step 1 — Rename locally

$ git branch -m master main

Verify the rename worked:

$ git status
On branch main
Your branch is up to date with 'origin/master'.

nothing to commit, working tree clean

Step 2 — Push the new branch to the remote

$ git push -u origin main

Step 3 — Change the default branch on your hosting platform

GitHub (and other platforms) won't let you delete a branch that is set as the default or protected. Change the default branch to "main" through your platform's web interface first:

Step 4 — Delete the old "master" branch on the remote

$ git push origin --delete master

What Your Teammates Have to Do

Collaborators with local clones of the repository need to update their copies:

# Switch to the "master" branch:
$ git checkout master

# Rename it to "main":
$ git branch -m master main

# Get the latest commits (and branches!) from the remote:
$ git fetch

# Remove the existing tracking connection with "origin/master":
$ git branch --unset-upstream

# Create a new tracking connection with the new "origin/main" branch:
$ git branch -u origin/main

Things to Keep in Mind

If you're using CI/CD tools, GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, Atlassian Bamboo, GitLab CI pipelines, or similar systems, check them carefully after the rename. Any pipeline or webhook that references "origin/master" by name will need to be updated.