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Change default remote git branch in IntelliJ

For some reason, my local dev branch is my default release branch. Is there any way in the IntelliJ UI to change this?

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For clarification, by "default" I mean the default for that branch, not for all branches. The default for all branches is supposed the branch name itself. I do not know how my dev's default got changed.

Solution

  • No GUI way to do it in IntelliJ 2021.2.3, though it's been a feature request for 3 years. If interested, add your vote to IDEA-197078 at IntelliJ.

    To set a new default remote branch (also called the upstream branch), open the project and checkout the branch whose default you want to change. Then open the IntelliJ terminal and type: git branch -u <remote>/<branch>.

    The -u stands for upstream, which is more explicit in the Git for Windows command:

    git branch --set-upstream-to <remote>/<branch>.

    For example, if the remote is projectA and you want dev1 to be the new default remote branch, then type: git branch -u projectA/dev1

    More info about branches here from the official online reference guide Pro Git (a great resource!).