Do we need to set branch name to main?

[maneesha]

How could the content be improved?

In the git setup section we show that after executing git config --list, one part of the output is init.defaultbranch=main.

A few years ago, the default branch was master. It is now main by default. The step below to set it to main is now unnecessary and may cause confusion because the reference to master no longer exisits.

Which part of the content does your suggestion apply to?

https://librarycarpentry.org/lc-git/02-getting-started.html#setting-up-git

[alex-ball]

Thank you for raising this, @maneesha.

I've been looking into this and as far as I can gather, the hard-coded default value for init.defaultBranch is still master (verified in v2.43). Some Git installers bundle a system gitconfig file that sets the value to main:

• Newer versions of Apple Git include a line alongside the osxkeychain one to set the default branch name (in /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools/usr/share/git-core/gitconfig).
• The default branch name is configured in step 3 of the installation instructions for Git for Windows.

But Linux distros tend not to ship a system gitconfig, and we can't guarantee learners will have followed the Git for Windows installation instructions to the letter.

We can certainly update the wording surrounding the step to reflect the fact that it may not be necessary, but we need to keep the step in, in case it is. I'll have a think, but I would welcome suggestions or pull requests to address this.