Summary

By default, the main branch on Bitbucket Cloud is named "main". Users must rename the branch locally because there is no option to do so on the UI.

Environment

• Bitbucket Cloud

Solution

Example steps to rename a branch from “main” to “master”:

• Begin by cloning the repository locally 

• Create a new branch with the name you want to set as the default branch (e.g. "master") - the command below will copy the contents of the main branch into the new branch (in this example - master):

git checkout main

git branch -m <master>

git push origin -u <master>

Switching the branch under the "Repository Details" section in the repository settings is important.

• On the UI, navigate to "Repository Settings"

• Navigate to "Main branch" under Repository Details

• Switch the main branch to one you created (ex:“master“)

• Click Save

On the terminal, run the following to remove the old branch named "main" from the repository:

git push origin --delete main

Alternatively, you may also follow the steps below to create the initial commit with a different branch name:

• Clone the repository locally 

• Run the following command to create a new branch with the name you want

git checkout -b <name>

• Create a new commit on the branch

• Push it to the remote

git push --set-upstream origin <name>