Version Control with Git

Branch Names

The name you assign to a branch is essentially arbitrary, though there are some limitations. The default branch in a repository is named master, and most developers keep the repository’s most robust and dependable line of development on that branch. There is nothing magical about the name master except that Git introduces it during the initialization of a repository. If you prefer, you can rename or even delete the master branch, although it’s probably best practice to leave it alone.

To support scalability and categorical organization, you can create a hierarchical branch name that resembles a Unix pathname. For example, suppose you are part of a development team that fixes multitudes of bugs. It may be useful to place the development of each repair in a hierarchical structure under the branch name bug, on separate branches named something like bug/pr-1023 and bug/pr-17. If you find you have many branches or are just terminally over-organized, you can use this slash syntax to introduce some structure to your branch names.

Tip

One reason to use hierarchical branch names is that Git, just like the Unix shell, supports wildcards. For instance, given the naming scheme bug/pr-1023 and bug/pr-17, you can select all bug branches at once with a clever and familiar shorthand.

git show-branch 'bug/*'

Dos and Don’ts in Branch Names

Branch names must conform to a few simple rules:

• You can use the forward slash (/) to create a hierarchical name scheme. However, the name cannot end ...