Release
• 1 minute read

The default branch for newly-created repositories is now main

Summary

The default branch name for new repositories is now main. To set a different default: For users, on the https://github.com/settings/repositories page For organization owners, on the https://github.com/organizations/YOUR-ORGANIZATION/settings/repository-defaults page For enterprise…

The default branch name for new repositories is now main. To set a different default:

  • For users, on the https://github.com/settings/repositories page
  • For organization owners, on the https://github.com/organizations/YOUR-ORGANIZATION/settings/repository-defaults page
  • For enterprise administrators, on the https://github.com/enterprises/YOUR-ENTERPRISE/settings/member_privileges page

Users, organizations, and enterprises that previously selected a default branch for new repositories are not impacted by this change.

Existing repositories are not impacted by this change. Later this year, you'll be able to rename the default branch for existing repositories for your user, organization, or enterprise account.

This change is one of many changes GitHub is making to support projects and maintainers that want to rename their default branch. To learn more about the changes we're making, see github/renaming.

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