Change Default branch in gitlab

Question

I accidentally pushed my local master to a branch called origin on gitlab and now it is the default. Is there a way to rename this branch or set a new master branch to master?

if you're maintaining a Drupal contributed module, see https://drupal.stackexchange.com/questions/287518/as-maintainer-change-the-default-branch-of-a-contributed-module-on-gitlab — Kay V, Oct 21 '19 at 00:27

score 195 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 29 '20 at 17:59

195

in the GitLab Enterprise Edition 12.2.0-pre you have to use following: Setting → Repository → Default Branch ( expand it) and change the default branch Here

edited Apr 29 '20 at 17:59

johannchopin

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answered Aug 26 '19 at 15:37

mohsen

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They keep moving it so I have to keep changing my correct answer. All other high voted answers were correct at the time they were posted. – Jeff Sep 06 '19 at 18:19
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This applies as of February 2021. Until the next change... – leanne Feb 27 '21 at 18:22
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Hello from 14.0! Although they changed it, so it uses sentence case, the option is still on the same spot. – Hans5958 Jun 25 '21 at 05:03
All the branches appear in the dropdown... except the one I want. Figures. – CoryCoolguy Jul 13 '21 at 22:16

score 126 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 29 '16 at 13:36

126

In 8.0+ it looks like this was moved into the project. If you open your project and go to the gear icon on the right, then "Edit Project" you can set the default branch for the project.

answered Jul 29 '16 at 13:36

Mason

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Dear reader, look at other answers for references to newer version of gitlab – human Jun 08 '19 at 01:54
thanks @bigdatamann I've updated the correct answer to the most updated current version – Jeff Aug 14 '19 at 16:33

score 125 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 03 '17 at 03:59

125

To change default branch in GitLab:
1. Settings > General > General project settings > Expand
2. Default Branch > Change your project default branch
3. Save changes

answered Oct 03 '17 at 03:59

coffeduong

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human · Answer 4 · 2021-01-04T23:52:29.590

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For gitlab v10+ (as of Sept 2018), this has moved to settings-> repository -> default branch

As stated by @Luke this is still valid as on 4/1/2021

edited Jan 04 '21 at 23:52

answered Sep 10 '18 at 04:49

human

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As of March 2019, this is still the correct answer! – Alex Mar 14 '19 at 11:19
Also not "Settings", "Expand one of the many options in the main content area", but "Settings", "Repository" (in the sidebar). AKA https://gitlab.com/you/your-repository/settings/repository – joeforker Jun 07 '19 at 12:49
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This is still correct as of Jan 4th, 2021. (GitLab Enterprise Edition 13.8.0) – Luke Jan 04 '21 at 22:15

score 58 · Answer 5 · answered Jun 23 '15 at 13:59

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To change the default branch in Gitlab 7.7.2:

Click Settings in the left-hand bar
Change the Default Branch to the desired branch
Click Save Changes.

answered Jun 23 '15 at 13:59

Mike Dimmick

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Why is this obvious option so hard for me to find too? – istrasci Aug 13 '15 at 18:33
GitLab Community Edition 8.8.5 does not have "Settings" in the left-hand bar. – Phrogz Jul 14 '16 at 20:40
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They changed the UI so I've changed the correct answer to @Mason – Jeff Jul 29 '16 at 16:43

ZzChen · Answer 6 · 2021-08-11T09:21:37.450

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In Gitlab version v11.4.4-ee, you can:

Setting
Repository
Default Branch

edited Aug 11 '21 at 09:21

answered Dec 14 '18 at 02:59

ZzChen

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score 17 · Answer 7 · edited Sep 20 '17 at 10:02

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Settings
General
General Project Settings

Setting the default branch

edited Sep 20 '17 at 10:02

Martin Liversage

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answered Sep 20 '17 at 09:02

t3h Exi

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score 13 · Answer 8 · answered Jun 22 '17 at 15:44

In the latest GitLab Community Edition version 9.2.2.:

You have to click on 'Settings' tab located at right most on tabs panel after opening the project.
Under 'Settings' you will get section 'Default Branch' dropdown which will give you all branches for the repository. Select the desired branch.
Scroll down to hit green colored 'Save changes' button located just after 'Project Avatar'.

Please refer image below:

VonC · Answer 9 · 2021-04-25T00:43:21.660

See also GitLab 13.6 (November 2020)

Customize the initial branch name for new projects within a group

When creating a new Git repository, the first branch created is named master by default.

In coordination with the Git project, broader community, and other Git vendors, GitLab has been listening to the development community’s feedback on determining a more descriptive and inclusive name for the default branch, and is now offering users options to change the name of the default branch name for their repositories.

Previously, we shipped the ability to customize the initial branch name at the instance-level and as part of 13.6, GitLab now allows group administrators to configure the default branch name for new repositories created through the GitLab interface.

See Documentation and Issue.

GitLab 13.9 (Feb 2021) details:

Git default branch name change

Every Git repository has an initial branch. It’s the first branch to be created automatically when you create a new repository.
By default, this initial branch is named master.

Git version 2.31.0 (scheduled for release March 15, 2021) will change the default branch name in Git from master to main.

In coordination with the Git project and the broader community, GitLab will be changing the default branch name for new projects on both our SaaS (GitLab.com) and self-managed offerings starting with GitLab 14.0.
This will not affect existing projects.

For more information, see the related epic and the Git mailing list discussion.

Deprecation date: Apr 22, 2021

As promise, with GitLab 13.11 (Apr. 2021):

Git default branch name change

Every Git repository has an initial branch.
It’s the first branch to be created automatically when you create a new repository.

By default, this initial branch is named master.
Future Git versions will change the default branch name in Git from master to main.

In coordination with the Git project and the broader community, GitLab will be changing the default branch name for new projects on both our SaaS (GitLab.com) and self-managed offerings starting with GitLab 14.0.
This will not affect existing projects.

GitLab has already introduced changes that allow users to change the default branch name both at the instance-level (for self-managed users) and at the group-level (for both SaaS and self-managed users).
We encourage users to make use of these features to set default branch names on new projects.

For more information, see the related epic and related blog post.

This was helpful, as was the screenshot at https://stackoverflow.com/a/57492760/470749 — Ryan, Nov 30 '20 at 15:35
@Ryan Thank you. I forgot the screenshot indeed. I have edited the answer. — VonC, Nov 30 '20 at 15:38

score 3 · Answer 10 · answered Aug 14 '19 at 10:19

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Settings > Repository > Default Branch

enter image description here

answered Aug 14 '19 at 10:19

George

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score 1 · Answer 11 · answered Jun 22 '15 at 19:08

First I needed to remote into my server with ssh. If someone has a non ssh way of doing this please post.

I found my bare repositories at

cd /var/opt/gitlab/git-data/repositories/group-name/project-name.git

used

git branch

to see the wrong active branch

git symbolic-ref HEAD refs/heads/master

to change the master to to be the branch called master then use the web interface and "git branch" to confirm.

score 1 · Answer 12 · answered Apr 21 '17 at 14:02

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In Gitlab CE 9.0, You can change the default branch from the Settings Tab in a repository's header.

answered Apr 21 '17 at 14:02

Mark Carpenter Jr

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score 1 · Answer 13 · edited Nov 21 '18 at 23:44

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For GitLab 11.5.0-ee, go to https://gitlab.com/<username>/<project name>/settings/repository.

You should see:

Default Branch

Select the branch you want to set as the default for this project. All merge requests and commits will automatically be made against this branch unless you specify a different one.

Click Expand, select a branch, and click Save Changes.

edited Nov 21 '18 at 23:44

Fabio says Reinstate Monica

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answered Nov 21 '18 at 23:23

Yichi Lu

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score 1 · Answer 14 · answered Dec 20 '22 at 12:21

1

December, 2022

settings >> repository >> Branch defaults :: expand and set your desire branch.

answered Dec 20 '22 at 12:21

Md Shamim Reza

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Change Default branch in gitlab

14 Answers14

Customize the initial branch name for new projects within a group

Git default branch name change

Git default branch name change

Linked