Make the current Git branch a master branch

Question

I have a repository in Git. I made a branch, then did some changes both to the master and to the branch.

Then, tens of commits later, I realized the branch is in muc

Answer 1

The following steps are performed in the Git browser powered by Atlassian (Bitbucket server)

Making {current-branch} as master

1. Make a branch out of master and name it “master-duplicate”.
2. Make a branch out of {current-branch} and name it “{current-branch}-copy”.
3. In repository setting (Bitbucket) change “Default Branch” to point at “master-duplicate” (without this step, you will not be able to delete master - “In the Next step”).
4. Delete “master” branch - I did this step from source tree (you can do it from the CLI or Git browser)
5. Rename “{current-branch}” to “master” and push to repository (this will create a new “master” branch still “{current-branch}” will exist).
6. In repository settings, change “Default Branch” to point at “master”.

Answer 2

One can also checkout all files from the other branch into master:

git checkout master
git checkout better_branch -- .

and then commit all changes.

Answer 3

I found the answer I wanted in the blog post Replace the master branch with another branch in git:

git checkout feature_branch
git merge -s ours --no-commit master
git commit      # Add a message regarding the replacement that you just did
git checkout master
git merge feature_branch

It's essentially the same as Cascabel's answer. Except that the "option" he added below his solution is already embedded in my main code block.

It's easier to find this way.

I'm adding this as a new answer, because if I need this solution later, I want to have all the code I am going to use in one code block.

Otherwise, I may copy-paste, then read details below to see the line that I should have changed - after I already executed it.

Answer 4

From what I understand, you can branch the current branch into an existing branch. In essence, this will overwrite master with whatever you have in the current branch:

git branch -f master HEAD

Once you've done that, you can normally push your local master branch, possibly requiring the force parameter here as well:

git push -f origin master

No merges, no long commands. Simply branch and push— but, yes, this will rewrite history of the master branch, so if you work in a team you have got to know what you're doing.

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Alternatively, I found that you can push any branch to the any remote branch, so:

# This will force push the current branch to the remote master
git push -f origin HEAD:master

# Switch current branch to master
git checkout master

# Reset the local master branch to what's on the remote
git reset --hard origin/master

Answer 5

My way of doing things is the following

#Backup branch
git checkout -b master_backup
git push origin master_backup
git checkout master
#Hard Reset master branch to the last common commit
git reset --hard e8c8597
#Merge
git merge develop

Answer 6

For me, i wanted my devl to be back to the master after it was ahead.

While on develop:

git checkout master
git pull

git checkout develop
git pull

git reset --hard origin/master
git push -f