Rename a local Git branch

David Y.

The Problem

How can I rename a branch in my local Git repository?

The Solution

You can use git branch’s -m/--move flag to rename a branch in our local repository.

To rename the current (i.e. checked out) branch:

git branch -m new-branch-name
Click to Copy

To rename a specific branch that may not be checked out:

git branch -m old-branch-name new-branch-name
Click to Copy

To propagate this change to a remote, you can use git push to push the new branch and delete the old branch, as below:

git push origin -u new-branch-name
git push origin --delete old-branch-name
Click to Copy

If you’re using Windows and would like to change only the capitalization in the branch name, use -M instead of -m to avoid an error.

git branch -M my-branch MY-BRANCH
Click to Copy