Renaming a Local and Remote Git Branch

Mar 31, 2022 min read

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

Switch to the local branch you want to rename
```
git checkout <old branch name>
```
Rename the branch by using the -m flag:
```
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

Push the new branch, resetting upstream
```
git push origin -u <new branch name>
```

Delete the old branch name on the remote

git push origin --delete <old branch name>