Starting next month, all new source code repositories created on GitHub will be named “main” instead of “master” as part of the company’s effort to remove unnecessary references to slavery and replace them with more inclusive terms.

GitHub repositories are where users and companies store and synchronize their source code projects.

By default, GitHub uses the term “master” for the primary version of a source code repository. Developers make copies of the “master” on their computers into which they add their own code, and then merge the changes back into the “master” repo.

“On October 1, 2020, any new repositories you create will use main as the default branch, instead of master,” the company said.

Existing repositories that have “master” set as the default branch will be left as is.

“For existing repositories, renaming the default branch today causes a set of challenges,” GitHub explained in a support page published earlier this month, such as having to edit settings for pull requests and modifying security policies.

“By the end of the year, we’ll make it seamless for existing repositories to rename their default branch,” GitHub said.

“When you rename the branch, we’ll retarget your open PRs and draft releases, move your branch protection policies, and more - all automatically.”

#github #programming #developer