Is it possible to alias a branch in Git?
build-automation, git, version-control
Solution
You can rename the master branch trunk as Greg has suggested, or you can also create a trunk that is a symbolic reference to the master branch so that both git and svn users have the 'main' branch that they are used to.
git symbolic-ref refs/heads/trunk refs/heads/master
Note that trunk isn't a first class citizen. If you checkout `trunk` and perform a `git status` you will actually be on `master`, however you can use the `trunk` command in all places that you use the branch name (log, merge, etc.).
Problem
I am looking into using Git on a massive scale. I was hoping to increase adoption and make things easier by calling the `master` branch `trunk`. This can and will give SVN users some feelings of comfort. I know I can create a branch called `trunk`, but that seems to deviate from the Git norms and might cause some users to get confused. I know that I can also create and delete tags to my heart's content but when I checkout those tags it tells me it is a non local branch which is just fine with me but probably not what I want to be doing. I am a total Git newb but a seasoned professional at release and build systems. What I want to do is to be able to call master trunk. I have seen the ability to alias commands – does this apply for the names of versioned objects as well? I know `git-svn` exists and other tools but the overhead of layered repository systems frightens me.