Renaming a Local and Remote Git Branch

03-31-2022

Sometimes you need to rename a Git branch, here are the simple commands rename a local or remote branch in Git using the command line.

Updating Local Branch

  1. Switch to the local branch you want to rename

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    git checkout <old branch name>
  2. Rename the branch by using the -m flag:

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    git branch -m <new branch name>

    **Note: if you have a branch matching new branch name use the -M flag to override the existing branch with the same name

Update Remote Branch

  1. Push the new branch, resetting upstream

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    git push origin -u <new branch name>
  2. Delete the old branch name on the remote

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    git push origin --delete <old branch name>