How to Rename Git Local and Remote Branches

Sometimes it is necessary to rename local or remote branches in Git when collaborating with a team on a project. In this tutorial, we are going to show how to rename Git local and remote branches.

Steps to renaming local and remote branches

Let’s achieve the result with the steps described below:

Renaming local branch to the new name

To rename the local branch to the new name, use the git branch command followed by the <kbd class="highlighted">-m</kbd> option:

change the current branch’s name git

git branch -m &lt;old-name&gt; &lt;new-name&gt;

To delete the old branch on remote (suppose, the name of remote is <kbd class="highlighted">origin</kbd>, which is by default), use the following command:

rename not current branch git

git push origin --delete &lt;old-name&gt;

Or you can shorten the process of deleting the remote branch like this:

rename remote branch git

git push origin :&lt;old-name&gt;

Pushing the new branch to remote

Then you should push the new branch to remote:

rename not current branch git

git push origin &lt;new-name&gt;

To reset the upstream branch for the <kbd class="highlighted">new-name</kbd> local branch use the <kbd class="highlighted">-u</kbd> flag with the git push command:

reset the upstream branch

git push origin -u &lt;new-name&gt;

Branching

Git branches are an important part of the everyday workflow. Branches are a pointer to a snapshot of the changes you have made in Git. Branching helps cleaning up the history before merging it. Branches represent an isolated line of development. They are considered as a way to request a new working directory, staging area, and project history. The isolated lines of development for two features in branches make it possible to work on them in parallel and make the master branch free from questionable code. The git branch command creates, lists and deletes branches not allowing to switch between branches or put a forked history back together.

Local and Remote Branches

The local branch is a branch existing on the local machine. It can be seen only by the local user. The remote branch is a branch on a remote location. A remote-tracking branch is a local copy of a remote branch. Assuming a newly-created <NewBranch> is pushed to origin using the git push command and -u option, a remote-tracking branch named <origin/NewBranch> is created on your machine. The remote-tracking branch tracks the remote branch <NewBranch> on the origin. Update and sync the remote-tracking branch with the remote branch using the git fetch or git pull commands. A local tracking branch is a local branch tracking another branch. Local tracking branches mostly track a remote-tracking branch. When pushing a local branch to the origin with <kbd class="highlighted">git push -u</kbd>, the local branch <NewBranch> tracks the remote-tracking branch <origin/NewBranch>.