Yes,
the feature move exists to rename the branch locally
git branch --move <old_name> <new_name>
but to push it, you must delete the old and push the new
git checkout <new_name>
git push origin [--set-upstream] <new_name>
git push origin --delete <old_name>
--set-upstream is optional, it configure the new local branch to track the pushed one
You can use the following shorthands:
move locally (--move) :
git branch -m <old_name> <new_name>
push new branch (--set-upstream, optional) :
git push origin [-u] <new_name>
delete (--delete) :
git push origin -d <old_name>
NB.
Thanks to torek's comment:
Worth mentioning, by the way, is that you should
- notify other users who share the upstream that you will be doing this, and
- do this in the order shown (set new name, then delete old).
The reason for #1 is that those users will need to adjust.
The reason for #2 is mainly just efficiency: it avoids having to re-copy objects to an upstream repo that drops commits on branch deletion (most bare repositories do that, and most repositories that accept pushes are bare)
