Git 3.0 will use main as the default branch

Starting with Git 3.0, developers will no longer need to configure a default branch for new repositories.

The patch notes in Git 2.52 released this week include this small but meaningful line:

Declare that “git init” that is not otherwise configured uses ‘main’, not ‘master’, as the starting branch when starting Git 3.0.

This change has been a long time coming. The Software Freedom Conservancy—the non-profit home of the Git project—said on June 23, 2020, that Git would eventually update its default branch name. Shortly thereafter GitHub changed its default branch for the new repository main On October 1, 2020.

Git 3.0 has no planned release date yet, but current estimates place it near the end of 2026.

Other notable changes planned for 3.0 include:

• Changing the default hash function from SHA-1 to SHA-256, improving security.
• Changing the default storage format to better support macOS and Windows and improve performance.
• Integrating Rust more formally into your Git build process