From ‘master’ to ‘main’: The easy guide to renaming your Git default branch for a more inclusive codebase

I started heavy development on Firecode.io this week to get it out of beta — and one of the first changes I had to make was renaming my primary branch to “main”. In 2020, Github announced that it would be dropping the use of the term “master” for the default branch name on its platform. This decision was made in response to calls for more inclusive language in tech, as “master” has historical connotations of slavery and domination. The change has been supported by many in the tech industry who recognize the importance of taking small but significant steps towards creating more inclusive spaces for everyone.

Since Github is one of the most popular code hosting platforms, this change has had a ripple effect across the tech industry. Many companies and organizations have followed suit and made the switch from “master” to “main” for their default branch names. This has involved going through a series of steps to rename the branch, update links, and make sure that the change is reflected in all relevant places.

Making this change is actually quite simple and should only take a couple of minutes:

Step 1: Create a new branch

The first step is to create a new branch called main from the existing master branch.

git branch -m master main

This command renames the master branch to main.

Step 2: Push the new branch to the remote repository

Next, you need to push the new main branch to the remote repository:

git push -u origin main

This command pushes the new main branch to the remote repository and sets up tracking so that future git push and git pull commands work as expected.

Step 3: Point the HEAD to the new branch

The next step is to point the HEAD to the main branch. You can do this using the following command:

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