Managing the default branch for a repository

You can specify which branch to use as the default branch in a source repository in Amazon CodeCatalyst. All source repositories in CodeCatalyst have contents and a default branch regardless of how you create them. If you use a blueprint to create a project, the default branch in the source repository created for that project is named main. The contents of the default branch are displayed automatically on the overview page for that repository.

Important

CodeCatalyst doesn't support detecting changes in the default branch for linked repositories. To change the default branch for a linked repository, you must first unlink it from CodeCatalyst, change the default branch, and then link it again. For more information, see Linking GitHub repositories, Bitbucket repositories, GitLab project repositories, and Jira projects in CodeCatalyst.

As a best practice, always make sure you have the latest version of the extension before you link a repository.

The default branch is treated a little differently than all other branches in a source repository. It has a special label next to its name, Default. The default branch is the one used as the base or default branch in local repositories (repos) when users clone the repository to local computers with a Git client. It is also the default used when creating workflows for storing workflow YAML files, and for storing information for issues. When using search in CodeCatalyst, only the default branch of a repository is searched. Because the default branch is fundamental to so many aspects of projects, you cannot delete a branch if it is specified as the default branch. However, you can choose to use a different branch as the default branch. If you do, any branch rules that were applied to the former default branch will be applied automatically to the branch you specify as the default branch.

Note

You must have the Project administrator role to change the default branch for source repositories in CodeCatalyst projects. This does not apply to linked repositories.

To view and change the default branch for a repository

1. Navigate to the project where your repository resides.

2. Choose the name of the repository from the list of source repositories for the project. Alternatively, in the navigation pane, choose Code, and then choose Source repositories.

   Choose the repository where you want to view the settings, including the default branch.

3. On the overview page of the repository, choose More, and then choose Manage settings.

4. In Default branch, the name of the branch specified as the default branch is displayed along with a label called Default next to the name. This same label appears next to the branch name in the list of branches in Branches.

5. To change the default branch, choose Edit.

   Note

   You must have the Project administrator role in the project to change the default branch.

6. Choose the name of the branch you want to make the default branch from the drop-down list and then choose Save.